{Rin}

For a while, both of them just sat there, with the sprite's corpse still laid out in front of them.

"And..." Xhez said, "that was it. When she bit down on the other sprite's neck, I came back to myself and that happened."

It was difficult for Rin to come to terms with what Xhez had just turned into a couple of seconds ago, but, seeing this creature in front of them right now, one thing became clear.

"So, I guess this is what Maria was talking about when she said you weren't like the other sprites she'd seen. It's because they were all like this," she stated.

"... If that is the case," Xhez took a deep breath, "I suppose it makes sense why we are viewed as monsters. But, t-this is the first sprite I have run into that is like this. Are these truly so common?"

"Maybe," Rin shrugged. "I guess I could ask Maria about it later."

"... It was frightening," Xhez said, visibly shuddering next to her. "It was as though all of my... my feelings, my thoughts, everything, just turned to nothing in an instant."

"I was pretty scared too," Rin chuckled awkwardly. "I don't think I've ever seen you so angry. But, it wasn't really 'you', though, right?"

"It was not," Xhez shook her head. "I do not even understand how my actual self returned. And, I wonder, why did I return, whereas she did not," Xhez said, lifting her eyes to the sprite corpse.

"Let's just be happy that you did," Rin said, throwing an arm around Xhez and pulling her close.

The sprite's response was simply to close her eyes for a moment, as the two of them sat there. They remained in front of that water for a couple of minutes before Xhez decided she wanted to go back inside her bag, just to think for a while. When she was in, Rin stood up, took the bag, and went back to the fortress.

In the process, she tried as hard as she could to get the image of Xhez trying to attack her out of her mind, but it really was so unexpected that it lingered in there like a stinging cut. When she got back to the others, walking in through the open fortress's doors, she found that nothing had changed.

Varyn was still performing the ritual, Alea was sitting with her back to the wall, and Maria was speaking with Sara.

"If you don't mind me asking," Rin heard Maria say, "what sort of preparation did you receive before coming to the Academy? You seem quite skilled."

"..." At that, Sara just looked down. "I trained."

"Ehm, yes, I could tell, but... Oh well," she shrugged, gauging that Sara didn't want to talk about it. "I guess it doesn't really matter."

Then, she noticed Rin and smiled at her.

"Ah, you're back."

"Any monsters popped up while I was gone?" She asked.

"No."

"Good," Rin replied, glad that she hadn't missed anything too important.

She placed Xhez's bag by the corner of the room, same as she'd done before, and sat down beside it then, crossing her legs.

Soon, though, she noticed something. Outside, the sky began to darken.

[Hm?] Rin narrowed her eyes as dark, nearly black clouds began spreading above the fortress.

In addition, the air grew substantially colder in a blink, so much so that Rin could faintly see her own breath.

"Uh, what's going on?" Alea asked their teacher, which let Rin know she wasn't the only one who'd just gotten colder like that.

"The ritual is close to finishing," Maria said, with a smile.

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"So, what's with all the clouds, and the cold-" Rin asked, as thunder cracked above them. Even Varyn flinched at that, but he regained his composure quickly, "and the thunder?"

"Now," Maria said, "the cursed area will try its hardest to prevent you from purifying it."

"... What?" Rin raised a brow, as she heard then heard a groan-like sound in the distance, outside the fortress. She stood up quickly, looking outside, and found a hand sticking out of the dirt.

"You could consider this the *real* start to the mission."

Just as Maria said that several corpses burst out of the dirt at once. Their rotting bodies were covered in worms, and they were holding old weapons in their hands. Bows, swords, axes. Each one with emotionless faces, all looking straight at Rin.

"Well," Maria said, as Sara and Alea both went up to the door. "It seems you have guests outside, and Varyn is still performing the spell. What will you do?"

[... Okay,] Rin took a deep breath, [this looks scary, but if they're all as weak as the other undead were, we should be fine. There are so many of them though...]

She counted at least twenty, at the front of the fortress, but she could hear those guttural sounds of theirs coming from every direction.

Sara was about to run forward, but Rin put a hand on her shoulder. She raised a brow at Rin, confused.

"Sara," Rin quickly addressed her, "stay near me, okay? We need to make space for each other. They'll surround us, otherwise."

The raven-haired girl nodded and then, with a focused, determined look, charged toward the nearest undead, decapitating it in one smooth motion.

"... I'm going to use my Spirit Flame," Rin told Maria, looking back at her. "Is that okay?"

"It's your choice," Maria shrugged. "If you feel that you need that ability, by all means, go on ahead. I personally disagree. I think you're skilled enough to handle this, even at an amateur level. Like I said before, though, I don't want you using it as a crutch, but it's ultimately up to you."

"..." Hearing that made Rin pause.

[She has faith in me,] Rin took a deep breath.

As Alea began to weave fire-based spellsigns, and Rin saw Sara slicing up a couple of other monsters, she clenched her hands into fists.

[Screw it.]

Then, without activating the ability, she ran forward and joined Sara, kicking away an undead that had gotten too close to her.

Thus, the fight began.

Emerging outside, as fire spells flew past Rin, she noticed that the number of enemies was larger than that which she'd originally estimated. Much larger. There were, maybe, a total of over a hundred of these things, all slowly lumbering toward the fortress.

[How strong are they?] Rin wondered as one drew closer to her than the rest. [Let's see!]

Then, with a crescent kick, she caught the side of its head. The monster was still standing. Rin followed up with a straight punch to its forehead that made the creature recoil, but it was still up. It swung the sword in its hand recklessly at her, with no grace or thought put behind its action. Rin jumped back, avoiding the hit and nearly running into another monster that then tried the same thing.

She avoided this one in the same way but ran into another one.

[I'm getting surrounded,] she thought, before a sphere of fire caught one of them, burning its head to a crisp and killing it.

"What are you doing, you moron!?" Alea yelled from her spot by the doors, at Rin. "Start fighting already!"

"It's not that easy," Rin muttered through her gritted teeth, but the girl's quip did prompt her to run toward one undead and sweep its legs. Then, she stomped on its head once, twice, and then a third time was enough to finally kill it.

[They're slow,] Rin thought, turning around to see if there were any behind her. [They can take a hit, but as long as I have space to work with, I can deal with them.]

In the distance, Rin watched as Sara blocked an attack from one undead, and then stabbed it through its head with a practiced forward motion. However, another undead raised an ax over its head and was about to bring it down on her, from behind. Rin lunged toward it, weaving through a couple of enemies, and she kicked the creature back. Sara noticed it, and then killed it the same way.

"Like I said," Rin told the girl, as she put her hands up and turned to make sure she wasn't gonna get caught by surprise. "We need to stay close to each other."

"Uh, hey!" Alea called out, and Rin looked over at her. "Don't leave me alone over here! They're trying to get to Varyn!"

[Crap,] Rin thought, running back to where she'd been positioned originally as Alea shot more fire spells out, killing off a couple of undead before Rin arrived and drew their attention.

[There's just a lot to keep up with,] Rin thought. [Priorities. First of all,] she started to list them out as she pushed one undead away and kicked another in its gut, [this entrance. I can't let them get in. Second, Sara. She can kill these things faster than I can, I just have to make sure she doesn't get caught off-guard. And, if I do that, then this should be...]

"Easy", was the word she'd been about to say. She was interrupted, however, when she spotted something manifesting up ahead.

[What?]

Lightning hit the ground, and in a flash, a creature appeared. One that was dressed in grey armor, and holding a thick black greatsword in its hand. It had a skeletal head, but its hands and feet were covered in steel. In its eye sockets, Rin saw two glowing red eyes, and something came to her mind.

[Wait, that looks a hell of a lot like the thing I fought at the ruins, after I met Xhez,] she realized, pushing more enemies away.

"Stay calm, and work together!" Maria called out, mostly just to Rin and Alea, as Sara was pretty far.

And so, the monster began walking toward them slowly.

[Okay, like she said,] Rin thought. [Just stay calm. Just-]

"Agh!" Rin heard a cry come out from her right, and she saw that one of the undead had just stabbed Sara through her right leg, just as the number of undead around them seemed to increase.

"... Shit."