Ava ran for her life as the intruders chased after her.

“Got you!” [Intruder]

One of them was on the third floor and appeared from the intersection of the hallway that she was passing by. He caught her left arm in his vice grip, but it wasn’t enough to stop her. She instantly reacted and used her kitchen knife to slash at his wrist. It wasn’t deep enough to be a fatal wound, but it had the intended effect. The hooded man groaned in pain and loosened his hold on her. The half-elf took this chance to free herself and deliver another cut on the side of his ankle before dashing away.

“(These guys don’t give up.)” [Ava]

The half-elf was breathing hard, reaching her limit. She had been doing an intense game of tag that put a large toll on her body. She needed to find a way out of her predicament. Another attacker appeared from the corner of the hallway and stood with his legs spread to block the way. She quickly looked back for a moment. The group chasing her wasn’t too far behind. If she stopped to deal with him, they would catch up. Furthermore, the man blocking the way pulled out his sword, showing his willingness to injure and possibly kill her to put an end to the chase.

The moment Ava got within two meters of her foe, she threw her knife at him. Although taken by surprise, he reacted by reflex and somehow managed to block the aerial attack. However, the half-elf had taken this chance to slip by him. Furthermore, she pulled out the dagger he kept behind his waist and ran. Such hair-raising encounters happened a few times before she finally reached her limit.

One of the intruders caught up and grabbed her hair. She swung her dagger, but he predicted it and caught her arm, forcing the dagger out of her grip. Then, she got swarmed.

“WE GOT HER!!” [Intruder]

Someone yelled triumphantly as three of them held her down on the ground. Two were holding her arms as well as putting weight on her back while another was keeping her legs in place. They weren’t taking any risks.

“(… Crap.)” [Ava]

She tried to break free, but couldn’t shake them off. A hooded man got down on one knee in front of her, pulled her hair to raise her head and brandished his dagger. It was dangerously close to her face.

“Now you listen here, half-breed. We’re all tired of this crap. If you keep struggling, use magic or so much as move a muscle, then I’ll cut your fingers off. Get it?” [Intruder]

He said in a menacing tone while showing the sharp blade as it reflected the light.

“Just a threat?! We should cut off her fingers now for what she did to us! Hell, hold her down like this! I’ll teach her who’s in charge…!” [Intruder]

Another man spoke in an angry voice as he begun unbuckling his belt.

“You’re actually into kids?” [Intruder]

“She’s fourteen. She’ll do.” [Intruder]

“Keep it in your pants! We don’t have time for this!” [Intruder]

“You can do her after we escaped! Right now we need to move!” [Intruder]

“Tch! I know!” [Intruder]

His attempt was thwarted by his colleagues who reminded him of their tight schedule. They roughly knocked the half-breed’s forehead against the floor, gagged her, tied her hands and feet and lifted her up. Dazed, though still conscious, she offered no resistance as one of the intruders carried her over his shoulder like a bag of flour.

“(… Of all the powers I could have had as a half-elf… It had to be something useless…)” [Ava]

She thought to herself as her vision swayed and blurred. In her hazy consciousness, she realized that her abductors were running through the school as they proceeded to make their escape. Their plan was to link up with the rest of their forces and forcefully break through using hostages. They had to hurry since they couldn’t drag the deadlock for too long. The guards might be ordered to deal with them at the cost of the students. Their quick smash-and-grab took too long because of the half-breed.

“(… Damn… Wished I had that guy’s power right now…)” [Ava]

Ava, while being carried, thought about the first elven soldier that she had used her power on. After getting strengthened, his dagger of glass became a sword of glass.

“(… It’d be really useful… To cut the ropes… And these guys…)” [Ava]

As she held such thoughts while half-conscious, she didn’t notice that a certain phenomenon was happening to her left hand. It was flickering like a light, disappearing and reappearing. Moreover, none of the intruders noticed it either until it properly sustained itself. As such, one of the men, who were keeping an eye on the half-breed, finally saw it.

“Oi, what’s that?” [Intruder]

Black smoke covered her left hand and hung there like a cloud.

“S-SHE’S USING ELVEN MAGIC!!” [Intruder]

He yelled to warn his allies, but it was too late. A ball of dark smoke was shot out from her hand towards the ground. Then, it instantly expanded like an explosion and produced a dull sound. From within appeared an elven man dressed in armor. He was kneeling on the floor, but sprung up and slashed at the intruder that was running towards him. A spray of blood flew in the air as the man fell with half of his throat cut out.

“W-what the…?” [Intruder]

“Where did he come from?!” [Intruder]

“An elf?!” [Intruder]

Everyone stopped in their tracks a beat later. They automatically got on guard, but couldn’t help but be agape. The man that appeared in a puff of smoke was definitely an elf, but both his armor and his body had a darkish tinge to them. He was definitely not normal. They carefully turned their sights towards the girl that was being carried on someone’s shoulder.

She was responsible for it. They knew that for sure. The elven race was capable of magic, something that humans could not.

“You damn half-breed, cancel whatever the hell you just cast or-!” [Intruder]

Although the man carrying her tried to have her dispel her power, a sword of glass suddenly flew towards him and pierced through his chest. His red blood dripped from the transparent blade. Ava was dropped on the ground as he fell on his back. Several more swords flew out and reaped even more lives. As their comrades were killed, the intruders, though shocked at the start, quickly went on the offensive.

“This bastard’s strong for fuc-kruurk…!” [Intruder]

“Damn! He got Brian!!” [Intruder]

“Attack in groups! Don’t let him breathe!!” [Intruder]

They had the elven soldier surrounded and they outnumbered him. Four attacked from different directions, but their enemy fought them with his sword and power on equal grounds. However, as more joined the fray, he was slowly being overpowered. Ava, who was lying on the floor, saw this in her hazy consciousness.

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“(… Looks like he needs some backup…)” [Ava]

She thought rather carefreely, still shaken from the blow to her head. The smoke on her left hand hadn’t abated and, as if in response to her thoughts, more dark balls were shot out. The projectiles that were a bit bigger than baseballs flew a few feet before they exploded.

“UWAAAH!!” [Intruder]

“More of them?!!” [Intruder]

Just like the first time, more elves dressed in armor popped out and they engaged the intruders. Two of them stayed near Ava and dispatched the men around her to ensure her safety. Before they knew it, a total of ten shadowy elven soldiers appeared.

“Elven magic! Get down!!” [Intruder]

“These guys are monsters!!!” [Intruder]

They cut down their foes with their swords or used their powers to eliminate them. Swords of glass, fireballs with a one meter diameter and icicles the size of lances were only a few of the many elven magic that flew through the air. Although the enemy easily outnumbered them five to one, they were still dominating the fight. It wasn’t only because of their powers for their physical abilities were also superior to the intruders. In the end, the ones that tried to abduct Ava were falling one by one.

“SOMEBODY GET THAT HALF-BREED!! STOP HER!!!” [Intruder]

“I-I can’t get to her!!” [Intruder]

As for the half-elf, a soldier had cut her restraints and protectively stood next to her with another one. They prevented anyone from getting close. While the fight was going on, she had time to regain her senses. She took a good look at the situation, understood it within a second and came up with a conjecture.

“Stop!” [Ava]

She ordered as a test and the shadowy elves obeyed. They stopped attacking and fell back to her, surrounding her like a wall. The intruders quickly took this chance to catch their breath and reorganize themselves. They didn’t bother wondering why she had them stop when they were winning. Each of them understood that her “bodyguards” were powerful, so they kept their eyes on them.

In the meantime, Ava was observing the elves around her. Although it was two years ago, she remembered some of them. Like the one that could create swords of glass, they were the soldiers that she used her power on as a test. Or, at least, they were creatures that had their appearances as well as their abilities after being strengthened. When she looked at her left hand, it was releasing black smoke. When she looked at her right hand, it was releasing white light.

The half-elf clenched her fists and looked up. There were still about two dozen enemies that had vigilant and somewhat scared expressions.

“Eliminate them, but keep four alive.” [Ava]

Upon hearing her order, the ten soldiers moved as one and quickly took care of the rest. It was one-sided and a few tried to escape, but were attacked from behind and killed. Except for four, the fifty or so men were wiped out. The injured survivors were forced on their knees with swords pressed against their throats. They were taken before Ava. The situation was completely reversed.

The half-elf, who was also kneeling on the ground, tried to get up, but couldn’t muster much strength in her legs. Her body felt heavy like lead, heavier than when she was abducted. It felt like her fatigue increased even more after she summoned those shadowy soldiers.

“(An elf’s power will consume his stamina… Guess it finally happened to me…)” [Ava]

She remembered what she was told during the test to determine what her power was as she took deep breaths. She slowly got up by holding onto one of the elves’ hand. She told her soldiers to take their hoods and masks off and carefully observed their faces. They were all humans.

“Alright people, I need some information. Who are you and why did you want me? You working for someone?” [Ava]

She asked in a nonchalant tone, but her fatigue was clearly visible as she breathed hard because of how worn out she felt. Someone chuckled and spoke up.

“Oh yeah? You’re gonna be questioning us now, is that it? Acting all high and mighty because of your freaky power… WELL FORGET IT!!” [Intruder]

The man on the far right spit some bloody saliva towards her and glared fiercely.

“Here’s what’s gonna happen, half-breed. First, you’re gonna get these… Things, off me. Then, I’m gonna beat you… And rape you. Then! I’ll turn your face to a bloody mess and sell you off for a hefty sum. THEN! Years later, I’m gonna find you in some slave shop, BUY YOU, AND MAKE YOU MY TOY!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND, BRAT!?! YOU BIT-!!!” [Intruder]

He couldn’t keep up his act of bravery because the darkish elf behind him slit his throat. Blood sprayed from the wound, staining his clothes and the floor red as it overflowed and spilled from his mouth.

“Don’t call me a brat, you brat.” [Ava]

Ava lowered her right hand that was near her throat. As a test, she made a gesture to slit his throat while staring at the elf holding him down.

“(So they protect me, follow my orders and can understand non-vocal actions. Maybe they can read my mind. Pretty nice. Though creating them is tiring. Or is it summoning them from some sort of storage?)” [Ava]

As their comrade’s face hit the floor, the other three looked at the fourteen year old girl in horror.

“Alright, let’s try that again~. There are three left and I’m gonna kill one at random. So, each of you have two more chances to live. One more time, who are you and what do you want? Oh and do you have a boss?” [Ava]

““……”” [Intruders]

No one answered as they all silently stared at her defiantly.

“… Too bad. Then, whoever gets shot by this freaky light will be stabbed from the back. Guys, make sure you kill them like I just said.” [Ava]

Right after she said such heartless words casually, Ava raised her right hand, which was glowing, and fired a ball of light at the man on the right. The moment he got hit by it, a sword went straight through his chest, spilling fresh blood. The one next to him yelped in fright. Ava didn’t miss his reaction.

“Down to your last chance… Let’s reduce it to zero, shall we?” [Ava]

She shot the guy on the left with another ball of light and the shadowy soldier executed him in the same manner. There was only one survivor remaining and he was visibly trembling faintly.

“For god’s sake! Y-you didn’t even ask us your question! You didn’t ask your question!!” [Intruder]

“Does it matter? You’re not gonna answer anyway so I might as well kill you. Now that I think about it, maybe I should do it differently. Cut off your hands and feet and let you bleed to death. I could even drag your around, you know. Paint the school. Give it a fresh new look. Actually, did you know that men have a hose that sprays out a lot of blood? It’s dangling between their legs and you just need to cut the cap off.” [Ava]

“Y-you’re messed up…!” [Intruder]

The pale survivor stared at the girl fearfully as she so easily spoke about such morbid acts with sleepy-looking eyes.

“You’re a damn monster!!” [Intruder]

“Of course I am. So with that said~…” [Ava]

Casually, she raised her right hand. The sight of the particles of light scared him to the core and it felt like his blood froze up in his veins.

“We, we’re just mercenaries! MERCENARIES!!” [Intruder]

In the end, fear engulfed him and he spilled the beans.

“Really?” [Ava]

She asked in a carefree tone while tilting her head, but her eyes were carefully examining him for any lies.

“YEAH DAMN IT…!! We were supposed to capture you alive! A-and kill some brat with red hair and grey eyes if we could for more money! B-but you came first!” [Intruder]

“Who’s paying you?” [Ava]

“I don’t know!” [Intruder]

“… Seriously?” [Ava]

She slowly raised her glowing hand of judgement.

“I-I-I don’t know! I DON’T KNOW!! It was some guy wearing a cloak! Couldn’t see his face! He said he was just an intermediary for our employer! He told us the plan and gathered more mercs, paid for the wagons, the supplies, everything! I mean…! I don’t even know most of these guys or why our employer wants you! Just that you’re worth a hell lot of money! A hell lot…! It’s all I know I swear! So please don’t kill me! Please don’t cut my hands and feet and di-!” [Intruder]

“Yeah, yeah.” [Ava]

After she said “Knock him out” in a light one, the survivor felt pain on the back of his head and lost consciousness. Then, she had her soldiers find some ropes from the dead men littering the hallway and tied him up solidly. He would be left to the authorities for more interrogation later.

“(Ok, moment of truth.)” [Ava]

Once she confirmed that he couldn’t escape, Ava performed the final phase of her experiments. First, she shot her strengthening magic at some random corpse. It had no effect on the dead or inanimate objects, which was something that was confirmed two years ago. Then, she raised her left hand and aimed in front of her. She recalled the feelings and thoughts she had when she first manifested that power. Soon enough, as she kept visualizing it, black smoke formed around her hand.

“Final test.” [Ava]

She muttered to herself as she shot a dark projectile. The way it worked was similar to her other power that strengthened others. However, the moment she released that ball of smoke, she felt that her fatigue increased and her legs nearly buckled from her weight.

“(So giving others a power-up doesn’t tire me out, but this does.)” [Ava]

Furthermore, what emerged wasn’t an elven soldier, but a hooded man just like she had imagined. He was the second survivor she killed after hitting him with a ball of light. She had actually wanted the random dead man she strengthened to appear, but he did instead.

“(So this really is how it works…)” [Ava]

She had now confirmed all of her suspicions.

“(Anyone I strengthened, I can create a ‘clone’ of them and have it fight for me. The condition is that they need to be alive. The clone is the enhanced version and doesn’t seem to have a will of its own.)” [Ava]

Ava raised her hands and stared at her palms. The right hand was glowing white while the left one was covered in darkness.

“(It’s freaking tiring, but I summoned eleven so far.)” [Ava]

She brought her left hand in front of her face and recalled the numerous elven soldiers she had cast her magic on.

“(If I can increase my proficiency with it, I could summon an army… Nice.)” [Ava]