"T-tch... Dammit... Bif. I swear... You're going to be the death of me... Not listening to me... G-Gah!..."
Bif watched on with shaking and wide-open eyes. Directly in front of him... Acting as a shield...
Patchwork stared on with an unamused expression. In front of him directly stood one of those mana clones of Lylas, and then directly behind it was Lylas himself. Patchwork's metal-covered arm was thrust completely through the clone, and partially stuck in Lylas. Blood trickled out and dripped onto the floor from the stab wound. Patchwork slowly pulled his arm back, watching as Lylas's clone faded away. Lylas himself struggled to keep standing.
Luckily, due to him regaining enough mana, Lylas had been able to throw a knife between them and move himself there with his magic. He then had just enough remaining to make a clone in front of himself. The mana clone took the brunt of the attack, but Lylas had still been pierced badly. Though, if he hadn't done this... There was no doubt in his mind that Bif would have died. Lylas's breaths were long, labored and raspy. He wobbled back and forth as his vision seemed to be all over the place.
"Oy... Lylas!" Bif grabbed his friend from behind and slowly eased the two of them onto the ground. He rested Lylas against his leg. Bif felt the rage build inside him. He didn't know how to heal wounds or anything like this. And it all happened because he was messing around. But, the gravity of the situation hit him.
This was it... Wasn't it? Lylas was near-death. And Bif himself was severely wounded. His body felt sore and weak. The intensity of his Shade and the usage of Flow had made it feel like he was boiling from the inside. He had only one tool left... And not nearly enough mana to make it worthwhile.
"Dammit... Avures wouldn't just send us here to die..." Bif gritted his teeth and faced the ground beneath him. He saw the ever increasing shadow of Patchwork standing over him. Bif instinctively closed his eyes as he held his dying friend close to him. Patchwork raised his blade-arm one last time... And brought it down, aiming straight towards Bif's neck.
The blade-arm stopped in place. A thin piece of darkness seemed to halt the blade in its entirety. Sparks and small shadows seemed to carve off as the pressure on the darkness mounted.
"You're right. I wouldn't send you to death's door."
Bif opened his eyes. Come to think of it, that shadow was much too large for Patchwork, and the shape was entirely different. He looked behind him. Avures walked forward and next to Bif.
"Don't you think you're a bit late, Brainiac?" Bif sighed and weakly grinned at his friend.
"Sorry, but we had to be sure. Olicia's getting the children out of here." Avures knelt down beside Bif and put his hand overtop of Lylas's stab wound. "I didn't think it would be this bad..."
"You saw the future, right? How did you think it was gonna happen?"
"Well. It's multiple futures... Hashing out the plan, the framework got more stable. With this plan here, I didn't see a single future where either of you died. But... This was one of the worse-off ones." Avures channeled a small black glow on his friend, stabilizing him and somewhat closing the wound.
"I get it..." Bif understood the implications in his wording. Avures stood up and unsheathed his sword, looking towards the enemy.
"I 'spose ya also think ya can kill me?" Patchwork pulled his arm away from the barrier and stepped back.
"Your goals, beliefs, motivation, and conviction should all line up in sync so that you have purpose when you fight." Avures took a deep breath and recalled Yuval's parting words. As best as he could, he would put it to the test.
"No. I don't think I can kill you." Avures dropped the barrier as he stared down Patchwork. "But I know you can't kill me."
"Oh ho-ho... Is that right?" Patchwork looked bewildered by Avures's statement.
"Indeed. You use stolen power that belonged to children. You might have a whole lot of it, but it's all you have." Avures stepped forward. A black puddle of shadow emanated out from him.
"A-Avures... Be careful... He can absorb mana with the-... The sigils on his hand." Lylas weakly pointed to the palms of Patchwork's hand.
"Mm. I get it." Avures stopped and retracted the shadow to just sit under his feet. A small casting of Perfect Dark would suit better for defense anyways.
"Yer a scrawny little thing... I don't even need yer mana. I'm just gonna tear ya limb from limb!" Patchwork wasted no time in throwing a punch straight to Avures's face. But, a dark tendril sprouted from underneath Avures's feat, easily blocking the attack. The tendril seemed to absorb the force from the hit. It didn't break or bend. This seemed to confuse Patchwork, but he had no idea that, comparatively, Avures's magic was much more potent than Lylas's own.
The tendril retracted. Patchwork tried to make a slice at him with his bladed arm... But that same barrier from before appeared. The stitched man grimaced and bore his teeth in a foul frown.
"Alright alright... I see how we're doin this." Patchwork stepped back several feet away from Avures. Avures dropped his barrier.
"Should only be a few more minutes..." Avures watched the enemy's moves closely. Soon enough, Olicia would be here...
----------------------------------------
Rael smiled and hummed to herself as she leaned back against the cart she came in on. She knew that she had gotten the most boring job out of all of them, but the way Avures framed it for her made her happy to do it. And he did have a point since she was pretty hurt from their initial outing here. Still, it'd easily been over ten minutes since they all entered that cave. Rael wasn't sure how deep it really was either. She guessed that the only person who would know is Olicia.
Olicia... What she had said about Avures on that ride back to the village upset her. Though it didn't really seem to bother Avures. And Rael couldn't truly bring herself to be mad at Olicia either. All in all, it seemed as if everyone was just a little on edge after the setback. Which made sense. Everybody probably thought this was going to be a cake-walk. Still, it seemed as if everything was going to come together in the end. And, she could say with confidence, it was because of Avures.
It made Rael unbelievably happy to see the person Avures had become over the course of a year. Even through their ups and downs. He had definitely changed for the better in her eyes, even if he didn't see it that way. Even if he felt like he wasn't who he wanted to be yet, it made Rael love him even more. The fact that he had an idea of the version of himself that he wanted to be. It was the first time she could ever recall him having a purpose. She was proud of him.
Still, it left her wondering what she could do for him. How she might also improve and develop along the way. It was a tough question for her to answer. But she knew that for now, it started with her waiting to take those kids home like Avures told her to do... But it sure was boring just waiting out here.
That was, until Rael could hear a pair of footsteps wading through some grass. She was right next to the cave entrance, so there was no way someone just walked by without her noticing. She unsheathed her ax and rested it on top of her shoulders, letting her arms hang over them. She glanced around... And spotted it. A cloaked figure, about as tall as she was had just walked up to the cart and was petting the horse.
"Hey, who are you?" Rael walked around the side of the wagon and up to the figure. The person continued to pet the horse...
"Oh me? I'm just passing through. I don't mean you any harm..." It was a women's voice that responded. The woman didn't bother looking over. Rael didn't have a problem with her petting the horse, but the fact that she just walked up to the wagon was strange. This, especially with how late it was.
"Uh... Okay?" Rael tilted her head. "Is there-... Is there something I can help you with?"
"I'm looking for someone I'm supposed to deliver a message to. Let's see..." The woman lightly drummed her hands on the horse as she gazed upwards. Rael just stared on, almost bewildered by this encounter.
"Uh..." Rael started to look around. Maybe this was some sort of ploy for an ambush?... But there seemed to be no other presence around them.
"Okay. I guess I would describe them as... Armored?... They have weird eyes. His name is Yuval?" The woman stopped tapping her hands on the horse.
"Oh? You're looking for Yuval? You just missed him. He left the area this morning." Rael sighed in relief. It seemed as if there was nothing malicious about this after all.
"Really? Darn... Do you remember what direction he went?"
"Eh... Sorry... I have no idea." Rael sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of her head. She put her ax down to the ground and leaned on the handle.
"Hm... It's okay. I guess I'll just have to keep looking." The woman sighed and stepped back from the horse. "What an idiot. This girl was no help at all. I bet she looks as stupid as she is."
"Best of luck to you!" Rael gently waved her hand at the gray-robed lady.
"Thanks, I gue-" The lady turned her head to meet Rael's glance and froze in place. Rael tilted her head at her once again as the woman's lips started to quiver. "I gue-gue-gue-I-..."
"Huh?..." Rael stared on with fully opened eyes. The woman tilted her head up, and Rael finally got to get a good look at her face.
The woman had a set of slanted eyes whose color was a standout lime-green. Her hair seemed to partially overflow out of the hood and over her chest and had a hot-pink color. Her hair itself seemed messy and somewhat similar to the style of Rael's own. She had a small button nose, her mouth and lips seemed small as well. But the most notable feature was an obvious burn-scar that traveled down the length of her head starting from the bottom of her forehead, crossing over her nose, and barely passing her lips.
"I-I-Uh-Ah-!" The woman stumbled backwards and fell onto her rear end. Her arms pushed against the ground as she carefully tried not to fall over. However, she couldn't seem to stand back up either. "Ah-Ah! Ah-! Wh-What-! Y-You!... You're-!"
"Good observation. Just who exactly is she?" Olicia stepped out from the cavern entrance and behind her was a small army of children, all of them doing their best to be quiet. As Olicia got a good look at Rael and the woman, she signaled for the children to all climb into the cart. They all did so without a fuss, and some with smiles on their faces as they were happy to be going home.
"Olicia!" Rael's face beamed as she put her ax away and looked towards her friend. "Did everything go okay in there?"
"Mhm. Well. Avures and I did okay. Not sure about the other two. Had to get all these little guys out." Olicia smiled and gestured at the kids.
"Tirella! That's who you are!... Or at least, you're like a splitting image of her!" The robed lady had gotten back onto her feet.
"Huh? Who?" Rael looked dumbfounded at the woman. Olicia also peered over Rael to look at her.
"She's a famous Lancer! Oh wow! You look just like her!" The woman had a big smile on her face that seemed uncanny.
"Oh!... You think so? I mean, I have no clue who that is... But thank you!" Rael let out a tiny scream of delight.
"No problem... Oh geez! I've got to get going! I hope we meet again!" And as quickly as the woman had shown up, she darted off in another direction.
"I have no idea who that was... But man, you are really easy to please." Olicia rolled her eyes and looked to her friend.
"What do you mean? It was a nice thing of her to say." Rael gleefully turned back to Olicia.
"And there it is..." Olicia sighed and closed her eyes.
"Huh? Is there something wrong?" Rael grabbed her friends hands with a worried look on her face.
"Hey... I'm sorry for what I said before. About-... You know." Olicia opened her eyes and looked down at Rael's hands.
"Oh... Well that's okay! I forgive you!" Rael clasped their hands together and giggled.
"That easily?" Olicia glared into Rael's eyes. Her fiery gaze seemed to melt her cold stare.
"Mhm! I can't be mad at you forever. And I wouldn't wanna be anyways. You're my friend! My buddy!"
"B-but why? Why so easily? Why so happily? Why so genuinely?"
"Hm... Well. I'm just being true to myself. I don't have any reason to be mad forever. And I wouldn't just lie to you or something. Sure, it hurt when you said that about Avures... But everything turned out fine... Kinda."
"I just wish I could be genuine like you..." Olicia turned her head away and closed her eyes.
"Huh?..." Rael's smile faded out as she felt offput by Olicia's demeanor.
"You wear your heart on your sleeve. And are never afraid of telling people how you feel or anything like that... I'm jealous..." Olicia opened her eyes again and lazily gazed upon the ground.
"Olicia... I've always kinda been like this... For better or for worse, the worse being before I became friends with Avures. But, it also wasn't the same as it is now. I used to be kind of a bully. And when I started to hang out with Avures, I was kinda bullied. But, the better came after because I started to be true to myself. And when you stay true to you, you can't go wrong. People will either forget about you, or like you for being honest. But that's nowhere near as important as being able to like and accept yourself."
"Wow... I didn't expect this out of you."
"Just be who you wanna be, Olicia. And I'll be there every step of the way." Rael's face beamed as she gave a full smile to her friend.
"I... I think I really needed to hear that. Thank you, Rael." Olicia freed her hands from Rael's own and hugged her. Rael embraced her as well. After a few more moments, one of the kids coughed.
"Hey... Miss pretty lady? Can you take us home?" One of the little girls leaned over the side of the cart and looked to Rael.
"Ah!" Rael excitedly broke the embrace and hoped over to the driver's seat of the cart. "Good luck, Olicia! Kick that guy's butt!"
Olicia watched on as Rael took the reigns of the horse and guided them back in the direction of the village.
"Easy to please... As always..." Olicia had a big grin on her face that wouldn't go away. Though, she had spent more time than she probably should have out here. Avures, Bif, and Lylas all probably needed her help. Olicia rushed back inside the cave, ready to join the fray.
----------------------------------------
Avures panted as he hopped back from another near miss. Patchwork brought his blade arm back up and frowned. The two of them had been locked in a constant struggle ever since Avures joined the battle. That is, Patchwork would attack, and Avures would evade or block the attack with his magic.
Of course, this was only supposed to be going on for a couple of minutes... It had been around ten minutes now. Avures wondered what sort of trouble Olicia could have gotten herself into. Or if it even was trouble at all, and not just her talking to Rael or something. Either way, it only started to dawn on Avures that he could be in a lot of trouble if she didn't show up soon. Between mopping up the lackeys of this guy, his injuries from yesterday, and the physical and magical effort in avoiding Patchwork... The wear and tear on his body and stamina was starting to show. His body ached like it had after he was initially patched up, and his muscles burned with a soreness like no other.
However, Avures had one last trick to hold out. If it became absolutely needed, he would resort to his future sight...
"So, what gives anyways?! There's no bloody way y'all got past Yuval!" Patchwork sprinted in towards Avures, rearing back his bladed arm in a charge.
"Actually..." Avures resorted to using hand signs to weave his mana, clasping his hands together and pulling apart to make a shield. "Yuval was the one who told us everything. And he's long gone."
"What?!" Patchwork thrust the arm towards Avures, clashing with the transparent shield of shadow as sparks flew off of the clashing point. "Figures he was a damned traitor! He picked his masters poorly, and he'll die for it!"
"Ah!" Avures felt himself losing ground to the sheer force his enemy outputted. Even his shield was cracking. He didn't have time to recast or reevaluate the situation. Avures dropped the shield and stepped to the side, swiftly dodging the stab of Patchwork. But it wouldn't be the end of that attempt, as his other arm was pulled back and launched into a swing towards him.
Avures pulled his sword out once more and held the blade of it with his free hand. The boy raised it in front of him with the length acting as a makeshift shield. Patchwork's fist made contact with the blade... And completely shattered the sword into two large pieces along with several tiny ones. Shards of refined metal trickled down to the ground as Patchwork's attack made contact with Avures's collarbone. Avures coughed and yelled in pain as the attack knocked him back into the cavern wall. He bounced off the wall with his back making a solid thud. Avures landed on his hands and knees and was gasping for air as he felt the agony of his chest nearly being crushed.
Looking to end this, Patchwork charged once more with the point of his stone-blade arm aimed towards the boy's head. Avures held his head low... But then raised it back up, their gazes meeting. Avures's darkness crawled up from his right arm, spreading over his eye once more. The pupil in its entirety glowed a bright color as the blackness gave way to a spatial like effect...
Avures swayed to the side, easily dodging the attack as he dashed forward onto his feet. Within a single moment, Avures had navigated under the weaponized limb and positioned himself to the side of Patchwork. With no hesitation, Avures jammed the broken blade into the man's side. Patchwork grunted as he brought his arm to the side in an attempt to swat the kid away... But his attack was already foreseen.
With Avures's resolve and goal focused in, he scouted the near future with ease and ducked under the swing. He then pressed both of his hands against the man's body. The mana swelled up in Avures's hands and immediately overcome Patchwork. The man watched as everything seemed to become slower and slower. It was like he was only moving and reacting half as fast. There was no doubt the boy had cursed him.
Avures hadn't expected such an idea to work. He sighed in relief as he hoped this would give Olicia enough time to join the fray. A simple bout of Manipulation magic to mess with his senses... The man must have been basically empty on mana himself. Avures sighed as he felt the darkness peel from his eye once more. He stepped back and away from Patchwork and over to Bif and Lylas.
"There... That should hold him... Then Olicia can do the rest." Avures breathed heavily as he knelt down next to his friends. The boy wheezed as his chest rose and lowered.
"For a second there, you had me worried." Bif chuckled and shook his head. "Seems that- Avures!"
Bif had screamed out to his friend. Avures turned his head to Patchwork without any delay...
A thickened sound of ripped flesh sliced the air as Avures clutched as his left shoulder.
"Tch!...A-Ah!..." Avures shakily tried to grip at the object now stabbed into his shoulder. His hand wobbled and felt weak as he gripped the item. That arm-blade... Patchwork had somehow launched it off his arm towards Avures. No matter what he tried, Avures couldn't move his left arm at all. Avures realized that the muscles and ligaments must have been completely shredded.
"Magic resistant sigils..." Patchwork grinned as he pointed to two sigils on both sides of his head right above his ears. Suddenly, he broke out into a full sprint towards the three of them. This was the end.
Avures stood to one foot and shifted just enough...
Patchwork was now frozen in place as Avures grunted and winced in agony. His short breaths gave way to gasps and groans of pain. A long shadow had erupted forth and touched the man's foot. Avures's Snaking Shadow had the man paralyzed for as long as he could keep the technique up. However, the damage was especially adding up now. Avures needed to process so much Flow with his Omega Arcane... It caused an immense and immitigable soreness all over.
The two locked eyes. Avures with one knee on the ground, and his foot pointed out towards the man. Patchwork caught dead in his sprint with no more momentum. But, if Avures let up... It was over. The seconds felt like minutes which felt like hours and so on and so forth. Lylas and Bif watched intently as Avures attempted to keep his focus on the spell. He raised his right arm slowly to help keep his mana composed. He had one target...
His heart was beating out of his chest as his torso swelled up in pain. Avures's arms and legs trembled as his knees buckled and the muscles in his arm wavered. Sweat cascaded down his face and neck. The blood from his shoulder stained his apparel and flowed down his arm. Avures grunted as his body struggled. His breaths were quick with an urgency brought by this life or death scenario.
The two sigils on the man's head continued to shine bright... His leg managed to inch forward into a step...
Avures felt his heart sink and his mind fill with panic as it seemed that the man was overpowering his technique and mana. Avures was covering him, and using the technique's power... And yet... It didn't seem to matter at all.
Patchwork's fiendish grin turned to a full on demonic smile. The corners of his lips touched his ear lobes and revealed his full set of teeth along with the red of his gums. Through the struggle of fighting this magic, he took a another resounding step forward despite Avures's best efforts.
More Flow... More Mana... It was already bad enough that he still had some wounds coming into this place. But, he hadn't thought it would be this detrimental to his part of the plan. After all, Avures had made sure his role was rather insignificant so he couldn't possibly screw it up. But, here he was... In his visions, he never saw this future. But then again, in all of his visions, Olicia arrived on time as expected. Blood began to drip from his nose and his eyes started to feel heavy. His vision began to drift to the side and floor. It felt like the room was spinning. It felt as if the ground was shaking and shifting from under him...
The sound of shattering glass rang out in the room. Bif was frozen stiff. Lylas gritted his teeth as his vision trembled. Avures's arm lowered and his gaze fell to the floor. His knees finally gave way and met the ground as he could no longer muster the strength to stand. The shadow connecting Avures and Patchwork broke into a million of pieces and rippled apart. A mixture of blood and sweat dripped to the earth below. His breaths seemed to be the loudest thing in the room. A weak wheezing emitted from the boy.
With the return of his full freedom of movement, Patchwork wasted no time stepping closer to the boy. He scoffed as he raised his right arm to his face and curled his hand into a fist. He resolved to end this game. Patchwork swung straight towards Avures's head...
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"You're late..." Avures muttered through waning breaths.
Patchwork found his fist was almost instantly repelled by a web of golden chains directly in front of Avures. Despite the mounting pressure he exerted, the chains seemed to push back against him. Patchwork was stunned, as this was the first time this had seemed to happen in this battle. The golden chains completed a counter-push, reflecting the attack of the man and forcing him to stumble backwards.
"Am I? Sorry. I got caught up talking with Rael. Though, I figured you would be a little more appreciative..." Olicia stepped forward past Avures and threw her cloak off to the side. She looked back towards her comrades.
Both Lylas and Avures looked to be in critical condition with the former having a severe mortal wound and the latter looking to be on the brink of total collapse. Bif didn't look to be in good shape either as the majority of his body was beaten with bruises and cut up.
Bif and Olicia both gazed at each other. Bif seemed to look angry, or at least a little resentful. Olicia looked to the ground and grunted.
"Well, all that matters now is ending this... Thank you, guys... For trusting me with this task..." Olicia's lips emulated a soft smile. She looked back into Bif's eyes again. Bif's angry expression faded as he sighed... He gave her a thumbs-up. Olicia chuckled as she turned to face the stitched man.
Olicia grinned as she strut forward. She held her fist out in front of her, and then opened her hand out wide. A network of golden chains expanded out from the walls, floors, and ceiling. Each strand and link of gold shot out with tremendous speed and pierced through the earth composing the room. In the quick moment it had started and finished, a complex web of these chains littered the area. Olicia wielded her purple and silver chain. She spun them around in circles at her side as she stood still.
Patchwork watched on ahead as she taunted him. Her behavior, appearance, and entry had ignited a newfound hatred in him. It was very clear to him that this was the meddler who kept opening up the passage. And to have her in his domain daring him... It pissed him off.
Glowing bright like the sun now, Patchwork bore his teeth in a dark grimace as he lunged forward. He jumped, avoided, and moved around the golden links. Olicia flicked her wrist and whipped the silver chain at him. The chain sideswiped the man, but didn't even scratch him. Olicia raised an eyebrow as she launched her purple chain a him next... But to no avail at all. It made no visible wound nor stopped his approach. And it seemed that her lack of urgency would lead to her downfall as Patchwork was now only a few feet away.
With a swift stride, Patchwork had breached her web and was positioned in front of Olicia. Her face filled with shock and surprise at the speed of the man. Patchwork brought his arm back...
Olicia retched and spurted blood from her mouth. Patchwork looked down upon her in rage, but also in satisfaction. He had enough of the games and playing around. The sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing echoed throughout the chamber. His fist was covered in a mixture of blood and guts as it appeared through the backside of Olicia's torso. The warmth of crimson and organs encapsulated his fist. Olicia's body gave way and leaned in towards the man, resting on the arm that was impaled through her guts.
Patchwork cackled out with glee as he couldn't believe how easy this was. For a moment, he had felt unsure about the chains. But it seemed it was all a farce. The man drew his gaze to the other three he had beaten... Only to see that they didn't look to be upset or angry at all. In fact, the blue-haired boy just sighed. Patchwork's laughter subsided as he watched on in confusion. But, he would soon have his answer as he noticed a twinkling at the bottom of his vision. He shot his eyes down and became bewildered.
The back of her neck... It glowed. The shape of an eye lit up with a deep violet hue. Patchwork immediately knew what this was. He ripped his fist backwards out of her torso as he took a step back. The girl's muscles gained definition and her veins seemed to bulge out. Her hair fluttered up as her face met his. There was a smile on her face and her eyes were closed. Within a few moments, the hole he had carved through Olicia began to reassemble. Her own flesh moved and contorted. Clots of blood, muscle tissue, bones, and skin stretched out and filled in the gap her body had. Now, it had seemed like he hadn't even touched her. Olicia opened her eyes. Her gaze had taken a demonic form with her pupils becoming tall slants.
"A Demon Sigil, eh?..." Patchwork's tone took an apprehensive turn, contrary to the way the other three had seen him this entire time.
"Oh?... You know of it?" Olicia grabbed the back of her neck and smiled.
"Course... Ain't no one who hasn't heard of the legends..." Patchwork clenched his fists, but then smiled. "Which means... All I gotta do is kill ya and take it. Then, I'll be unstoppable!"
"Pf... You have all those sigils, yet you need mine? That's kinda sad." Olicia giggled and waved him off.
"This place is a breeding ground for sigil bearing people... Yet, they're all basic and weak ones." Patchwork began to slowly point to every sigil down the length of his arm. "Altogether... They're powerful... But a Demon Sigil? That's the real deal."
"But that was the point, wasn't it? I heard all about all of this. Combining the power of multiple sigils. Don't you already have enough power to do what you want? Or were you waiting for a Demon Sigil? If you're this strong, why not just do what you planned on doing?" Olicia's expression turned serious as she let the chains dangle onto the ground.
"Because... Ya can always be stronger, tougher. This is a game I win the longer it goes on... Gargas was a fool! His plan was one of a fucking bloody idiot! Simple revenge all to find himself under the boot of another! But me? Unlike him, and unlike ya bastards... I choose to have no masters."
"No masters? What are you going on about?"
"The moment ya walked in here... No, the moment ya decided to listen to em. Ya chose your master. He's controlled yer objective ever since. But, if I had to guess... I'd say ye'r all Lancers, right?" The lack of response from four of them gave Patchwork the answer he expected. "Its in yer nature to pick masters... But what about the ones ya can't pick?"
Masters you can't pick?... That doesn't make sense with the rest of what you're saying. Forced servitude is the right of the victor. By that meaning, no one can pick masters." Olicia shook her head and rolled her eyes. Her family... Yulva. They were prolific warriors who often enslaved the kin of rivals from other villages that they defeated. So, this tangent from the man made no sense to her.
"That's where ye'r wrong and right. Ya can choose to let someone dictate yer life. And then there are some who ya can't choose. Ones ya gotta bend the knee to cause otherwise... Ya die. That is a master ya can't pick."
"You sound ridiculous. I think its time I-"
"What if ya break the law? Don'cha think they'll send some bloke strong enough to kill ya? Ye'r no longer in control of yer destiny. Ya have a master ya couldn't choose. Hell, is there someone right now who can put ya down if ya step outta line?" Patchwork pointed at Olicia and she froze in place.
"Do you really think I'm trying to kill you?"
"And think of where I could have hit you."
"If I really did want to kill you, I would have already. Before you could even adapt, I'd cut you down."
"That's why my son will take responsibility of making sure you don't become a monster."
"If you can cut a cross overtop of it, it's power will cease to function, and the wielder will be paralyzed until the wound closes."
"There is..." Olicia's face grew stern as she cast her glance away from her enemy.
"Then ye'r at the mercy of another... That's a master. Wouldn't ya wanna make sure that no one can hold yer life over yer head?... That's why I need more power... And that's why I'll let ya reconsider yer side here..." Patchwork put his arms to his side and beamed with confidence.
Olicia stared blankly at the ground. What he had said matched up with the way that Ventrix and his father saw her. Someone to be put down if they step out of line... Olicia's grip on her chains tightened as she even considered that the reason she was so open to Ventrix might be a form of appeasement. Did it stem from her being afraid? From him being her "master"?
"If I ever become like that, Ventrix...I want you to kill me."
The words echoed through her head. Her own words... That was right. She had asked him to kill her should she lose control. It was her own choice. Or at the very least, something she was okay with. Olicia wanted to remain herself, not turn into some bloodthirsty beast. In that way, she was a slave to no one but herself. The only master that she had which mattered... Was herself.
"Your logic sucks. Switch sides? After you just said all of that? I'd be trading one "master" for another. Do you think I'm stupid?" Olicia scoffed and swung her chains around once more. "Besides, living in fear of someone else stronger than you? Screw that! What a bunch of nonsensical drivel!"
"Tch!... Ya shouldn't have mocked me... I'm gonna make you suffer!"
----------------------------------------
The sound of a fist meeting a door echoed through the hallway. The lone boy stood still and waited for a response... Nothing... He knocked once more.
"Can I help you?" A voice answered his knocks.
"It's Ventrix... With the Lancers. I wanted to talk about our contract." The boy ran his hand through his hair and sighed.
"Come on in..." A shuffling of papers could be heard as the voice granted him entry. Ventrix pushed the door open and came through. "Is there an issue with the contract?"
"No. Quite the opposite, actually." Ventrix cautiously closed the door behind him. As it clicked shut, Ventrix fiddled with the knob and silently locked the door behind him. A simple office for a noble, but still respectable for Ventrix's tastes. Gargas watched the boy as he sat comfortably behind the desk. Ventrix meandered his way towards a window and pulled the curtains open.
"Hm?" Gargas sighed and mustered the will to stand up. He inched his way to the window to see what Ventrix was looking at.
"It seems the contract is complete. The kids have been returned. Take a look." Ventrix gestured down to the ground below. Some feet away and below was the main road of this village. And, in the middle, sat the cart Rael and the others had used. Surrounded by most of the townsfolk and illuminated by torchlight, the two of them watched Rael help the kids climb out of the back of the cart. The noise of cheers and cries of happiness permeated through the window as families were once again reunited.
"Indeed it does... You and your fellow Lancers have done this village a great service. As per our arrangement, allow me to sign the papers." Gargas waddled his way back to his desk and plopped down into his seat. A bit of fiddling and... He pulled out the contract and special pen. With a few quick scribbles, the contract was officially completed.
"It seems just about everything is wrapped up." Ventrix continued to watch below. He waited until every last kid was reunited. Then, as soon as it was finished, Rael glanced up at the window to meet his gaze. Ventrix gave a thumbs up. Rael nodded her head and jumped onto the cart. She stood up and waved to everyone else around them.
"So... I suppose that means the bandits are..." Gargas looked over to Ventrix.
"Dead. Taken care of I presume. Not a part of the contract, but we decided that it needed to be done." Ventrix closed the curtains and grabbed at his sword sheathed to his side.
"I'm glad you all took the initiative. Perhaps I underestimated you all." Gargas rolled up the contract paper and put it away.
"You did. And you still are. After all, there is one last loose end to all of this." Ventrix turned his body and slowly marched over to the desk.
"Huh? What might that be?" Gargas tilted his head to the side. Ventrix's eyes narrowed. The ease at which he questioned him made the boy sick to his stomach.
"You. Obviously. Gargas Bindle..." Ventrix pulled his sword out with grace and put the tip of it mere inches away from Gargas's nose. "For the crime of kidnapping, assault, and conspiracy... I'm using my authority as a Lancer to place you under arrest. Your trial begins now."
"What?! What do you think you're doing?" Gargas planted his hands on the desk and shot up. "What are you going on about?"
"We learned all about your exploits. It seems you're fully responsible for this entire ordeal." Ventrix's gusto did not waver.
"You have no proof of anything! You're clearly delusional!" Gargas swiped his hand to the side.
"Why would bandits hire doctors? Why would bandits document things? For one reason or another, you undertook an experiment to gain power. This entailed hiring bandits to kidnap children with sigils. You would have them cut off these sigils and graft them to your skin in order to use them. However, you weren't certain if this would work at first. So, you picked a random bandit for them to test with. To your surprise, it worked. However, this bandit would undermine your idea and take it for their own. And then, it turned into a problem that threatened the whole village and your life. So, you hired Lancers to come and solve it while hoping they wouldn't realize your involvement. Does that sound about right?" Ventrix pressed the tip of his blade into the man's nose. Though he couldn't verify this information like Avures could, Ventrix was willing to bluff it and bet on his friend.
"N-uh... You can't do this to me..." Gargas raised both his hands in the air as he sighed.
"Lancer authority is absolute. The only thing that no one is sure of... Is why?"
"Why?... Because I am under threat to lose everything." Gargas kept holding his arms high. Ventrix pulled his sword back a few inches, but still kept himself poised. "Rival houses have been looking at this village for a while. They wish to run me out, best me, and even dethrone and kill me. I was only born with my name and inheritance... No talent to speak of. How was a man like myself supposed to defend himself and his noble name? This village is only still around because of me and my wealth! They owe their children's lives to me in the first place! What's so wrong wit-"
Ventrix's left eye twitched as he abruptly flicked his wrist and sliced his sword with great precision. As Gargas had droned on with his tirade, Ventrix couldn't bare it anymore. Mid-sentence, Ventrix had used the tip of his blade to slice the gums right above Gargas's teeth while his mouth was open. Gargas threw his head forward and covered his mouth. He could feel the warm liquid trickle down over his teeth and onto the bottom of his mouth. The pain was excrutiating and he couldn't bring himself to open his mouth once more or look up.
Ventrix stared straight ahead at the wall behind the man as he doubled over in pain. With a heavy sigh, Ventrix pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and ran it down the length of his sword, cleaning the blood from the blade. He didn't look away from the wall as he finished using the rag.
"That is an admission. Not to worry though... Be glad I'm not playing judge or executioner." Ventrix moved back over to the window and opened up the curtains once more. Rael was still standing on top of the cart as she gesticulated towards the manor. He couldn't hear a word that was being said, but he didn't hear an angry uproar. "They will be."
----------------------------------------
"So, if everything is going to plan... That should mean everything in the village will be taken care of. And all that's left is for Olicia to beat this guy." Avures rested on a single knee as he watched the two ahead of him have a stand-off.
"Things were really dicey there for a bit." Bif also sat on a knee while shouldering Lylas.
"Our parts in this plan had the most room for error. And Olicia, Rael, and Ventrix all had the less consequential parts... So to speak. So, I'm sorry if things almost fell apart. I'm sure Lylas held it together though, right?" Avures looked over to the two boys.
"Nope. He was kinda useless." Bif rolled his eyes and sighed. Then, he grunted in pain as Lylas punched him in the back of the head.
"Shut up, asshole. I saved your life like two or three times..." Lylas was still breathing heavily as he shook his head and looked over to Avures. "By the way, I'm sure ya found all the kids, but did ya find those supposed doctors or clerics?"
"Huh?... Now that I think about it... No. I have no clue where they could be..." Avures remembered those moments prior to coming here. Defeating those bandits and freeing the kids was easy enough... But there was nothing about those doctors at all.
Olicia twirled her purple chain around while dropping her silver one to the ground. Like a snake or worm, it came to life and writhed on the ground before burrowing into the earth below it. And like the gold chain, it sprouted out and linked itself all over the cavern. It was like a thick nest of metal made into ornate webs.
It seemed as though neither chain had much of an effect on this guy. The silver one was never very strong to begin with, and the purple one didn't seem to de-power his sigils... Which meant that Anti-Magic wouldn't render them useless... Something she would have to keep in mind for later. From the looks of it, he was fast, hit hard, and could take hits. Which left her with one clear line of victory.
"Pf... He-he..." Olicia closed her eyes and giggled to herself. This one path to victory seemed silly to her. She couldn't help but laugh about it. The worst part about it to her was that she knew it was going to work too.
"That's enough!..." Patchwork leapt forward and brought both arms back. Olicia didn't bother to move at all as he swiftly clapped his hands together on her head. Her head popped entirely like a balloon, spraying blood and brain matter all over him and the ground behind her. He pulled his hands apart and revealed only a golden chain remaining where her head once was.
But, instead of falling limp, her body continued to move. Her arm dropped the purple chain which wasted no time digging into the ground. She ducked down as her entire skull, brain, and other bits slowly pulled together and reformed. With a quick push off, Olicia leapt forward and planted both hands onto Patchwork's torso. He watched in confusion as her eyes finally reshaped... Staring right into his own. The rest of her face and head quickly followed.
Then, something burst from the backside of his body... Two golden chains shot out from his back and latched into the cavern walls several meters away. Blood and flesh projected out as the chains forced their way out from his body. Suddenly, the chains yanked him backwards towards the wall. A few more chains would burst out from the wall as well. Purple chains began to adorn the cavern and thicken Olicia's web. Shooting out from the length of these chains, silver ones would latch onto Patchwork's wrists and ankles. He was fully suspended in mid air and being pulled in every direction.
"Gr-Grah!... Tch!... Ya fucking bitch!" Blobs of saliva and blood shot out from Patchwork's mouth as he groaned and grunted in pain. Then, the chains began to pull with a much greater force. However, it seemed to not make much of a difference.
"Interesting... Your sigils resist damage and pain inflicted upon the outside. But when attacked from the inside... You're as vulnerable as anyone else." Olicia grinned and rested her hand on her chin. "So much for all that kidnapping, huh?"
The expression on the man's face grew more annoyed as his eyes were practically bulging out from his sockets. His veins popped out and were clearly visible under his skin. His face turned a bright red and his teeth grind against each other.
Olicia, on the other hand, only seemed to gain confidence. She wasn't quite sure if the trick would work, but it seemed so. Though she was no specialist with it, Olicia dedicated a small portion of her potential to Manipulation magic... And for only one reason: Changing the properties of some metals into another. For example, changing iron into gold. Why? To be able to artifice her gold chains from any source of iron like blood. Also for the purpose of altering her own chains on the fly. With this combination, she felt invincible.
Particularly, the inside of her body was now littered with multiple small threads of gold chains. With her regeneration powers, Olicia could take his full strength, and absorb the force from it consequence free. Aside from the obvious path to victory there, she now had another in attacking the inside of the man's body. It also helped that it seemed he was lacking in mana, so he couldn't even properly defend himself from a move like that. Olicia mentally thanked the three boys for wearing him dry on that front.
"I'll kill you... Ye'r dead! Argh!" Patchwork's body began to undergo a metamorphosis. His legs and torso expanded outwards and upwards, doubling his width and making him a few feet taller. Bones cracked, skin ripped and stretched, and muscles bulged and popped outwards. On the sides of his torso, there were four tumorous looking growths which seemed to big bigger and larger with every second. Then, they burst out suddenly without warning. Two more sets of arms shot out from his sides below the originals.
The four teens watched in disgust and horror as the man's body had practically doubled in size and gained more appendages. Strangely enough, the areas where his body had grown and expanded seemed to have different skin tones and complexions...
Avures and Lylas both quickly realized what happened to those doctors.
"G-...Grr...Grah!" Patchwork flexed his body and forced himself free of Olicia's shackles. He fell down to the ground and shook the entire cave as he landed. The chains he freed himself from dangled and clanked onto the earth.
The man's body had steam rush off the sides and top of his body as he stood still with his head looking down at the ground. Patchwork shambled a few feet forward. Olicia's smile had faded into a look of shock.
"Heh... This is a real Shade... Not that shit knucklehead had over there... This is Skin Ticket." Patchwork's head rose and met Olicia's eyes. "Adaptability... Absorption... No man could withstand all these sigils without this Shade. I'll add yer mass and power to my own..."
Without further time spent, Patchwork launched into a full sprint forward. Sickeningly, as he ran forward, two sets of legs would sprout out from his body, tripling his speed. Olicia had no time to react as he closed the gap between the two instantly. His six arms all grabbed at Olicia and pulled her off the ground. His advance didn't stop there as he carried her all the way to the end of the cave. There, he slammed her into the wall against the full force he could muster. Olicia gasped for dear life as she couldn't force herself free.
Patchwork used two arms to keep her pinned against the crater now in the wall. He then used his four other arms to pummel Olicia. Fist after fist, a blinding flurry of blows which shook the foundation of the cavern itself... Olicia choked up spit and couldn't recover as she was sunken deeper into the wall with each attack. Her entire body was being smashed and bludgeoned apart. Each hit broke a bone or smashed her flesh. And, as this happened, her body would regenerate as quickly as it could... Meaning...
"Regeneration? Whatever! Who cares! I'll just keep torturing ya like this until yer mind and body gives out from the pain!" Patchwork laughed like a maniac as his furious onslaught continued.
Olicia could hardly keep a cohesive thought through the agony her body was enduring and putting herself through. And though her adaptive factor through her Demon Sigil was making her body more sturdy in response... It was too little and too slow compared to the power Patchwork was consistently unleashing. If only she could focus for just a single moment...
"Ech!...W-what?!" Patchwork's offensive came to a sudden halt as he found he couldn't move any part of his body. Barely managing to inch his neck and head, the man was able to get a glimpse behind him to see the source... Avures had his left foot planted forward while he used both his hands to concentrate. His Snaking Shadow was think and very translucent, but reached Patchwork's foot nonetheless. Avures's chest rose and fell as his breath was extremely labored. For only a moment, Patchwork had been frozen. Then, the boy's technique sputtered out and dissipated into small shadows. Avures fell to his hands and knees as he wheezed and felt blood in the back of his throat.
"Dammit! You!..." Patchwork grimaced as he turned back to Olicia. She was fully recovered once more. And, before he could throw another punch, what seemed to be millions of silver chains sprouted from the wall and wrapped around him head to toe. They then sprouted out another direction and pulled Patchwork off of her. With the man wrapped like a cocoon, Olicia took this time to free herself from the imprint in the wall. She brushed off her outfit which had been slightly torn by the force of the man's attacks.
"I mean, I was about to win on my own..." Olicia smirked as she looked over towards the boys. "But I appreciate the help, Avures."
"Argh!... Gr... Grah!..." Patchwork burst the chain cocoon open and freed himself once more from Olicia's binds. He landed with another resounding thud. "This time its over!... I'm adding yer power to my own! That Demon Sigil is as good as mine!"
"Then let's end this!" Olicia took a deep breath and released all of her chains. Though she didn't utilize them all like she wanted, she had her win condition set. The webbing of chains was fully released. The silver and purple chain both appeared on her waist once more. But, the golden chain was now in her hand. She closed her eyes and waited...
Patchwork charged forward once more. His terrifying speed and strength carried him to his opponent. But Olicia focused herself only on the movement of the footsteps, using her Earth magic to precisely hone in...
With only a mere few feet between... Patchwork lunged towards her, outstretching his arms to grab her and absorb her...
Olicia exhaled, and found her moment to strike. Her eyelids peeled open, and her mind fixated on only one thing. One desire... Her lips curled into an open mouth smile as she nonchalantly flicked her wrist and brought her arm up in a diagonal motion...
A sound akin to a flowing river or spurting fountain overcame any other noise in the moment. A solid and heavy thunk resounded several times before halting entirely. This was then followed by one more thud. The spurting noise ceased. Olicia's footwear parted a red sea below her. She still held her arm up... And slowly brought it back down. The dangling of her golden chain clinked as it met the ground below and became stained with an ocean of crimson. Olicia lightly scoffed as she looked down at her body. What started as a light sprinkling of blood turned into a soaking of it as any part of her body and outfit below her chest was completely covered by it.
Several meters away from Olicia lay a chunk of skin and meat with a thick crimson trail leading to it. The force of her attack... The culmination of all those absorbed hits... The retaliation blew away any recognizable semblance of a human body from that portion of Patchwork. That portion being anywhere from his right shoulder and downwards diagonally to his other side. It resembled nothing more than some amalgamation of flesh and bones all scrunched together.
But at her feet, lay the other half of her victim. Still remaining as a head and upper torso with two arms on the same side, Patchwork whimpered and moaned in an excruciating amount of pain. What remained of him could not force up any words, but only sounds of agony. His mouth was agape, and his eyes were clouded. Through his opened body, bruised and beaten organs lay out at the edge of his torso. Most of these organs were unrecognizable from the damage. The sigils on this portion of his body fluttered with the last etchings of life.
While her attack left this upper half relatively unharmed, Olicia's move had obliterated the rest of his body. The battle was over...
Olicia's body returned to its normal state as her Demon Sigil powered down. She used her hand to wipe off a copious amount of blood off of her skin and outfit. Her eyes narrowed down and her frown gave an air of disgust as she put her eyes on her enemy. She looked at the organs spilling out of him... There were a lot... More than she thought a single human could have.
"I get it. We didn't find doctors... And his body looks like that because... Whatever this "Skin Ticket" power of his was... It must have absorbed their bodies completely. The fact that his body expanded and new skin with different colors emerged seemed to indicate it all. It also meant he could have kept adding sigils himself... And those kids..." Olicia tapped her chin...
"Tch!..." Olicia threw her gaze to the side as she cringed about the implications of her thoughts. Had they not gotten there in time for those kids... It was time for her to kill him. She crept towards his head. Looking at his face, it was apparent that he wasn't even cognizant enough to realize she was standing above him. She brought her left leg up and held her foot over his head. She channeled her magic to her foot. One stomp, and it would be over...
"Actually... I can't kill him. Can one of you do it?" Olicia put her leg down and turned away from Patchwork. Perhaps to some degree, he was right. Her nature... That sigil was her master. But she wasn't going to just give into it.
"Huh? Why the hell can't you?" Bif threw his arms in the air as he shook his head.
"Pf. I don't want to get brains on my shoe." Olicia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms... But slowly dropped them to her side and then sighed. "Its just something I need someone else to do. If I do it... Then I'll-"
Olicia heard footsteps approaching her. She looked up, and was caught by surprise. Bif was meandering on over while dragging a club against the ground. He stopped at Patchwork's head. Bif and Olicia's gaze met as Bif raised his club high in the air... And slammed down. The crushing of bones and flattening of flesh echoed for a moment. The two kept staring at each other. What remained of the stitched man's head was nothing more than a paste of blood and bone marrow.
"Thank you... Bif." Olicia's eyes softened and the corners of her mouth rose into a soft smile.
"Hmph..." Bif closed his eyes, slung his club over his shoulder, and smiled.
For just a moment... Olicia felt like she somewhat understood Bif...
"See Brainiac, this is what I'm talking about." Bif gestured to Olicia with his thumb as his smile got even wider.
"Huh?" Olicia raised an eyebrow as she started holstering her gold chain.
"You could say Olicia's stacked. But her wardrobe and attire leave nothing to the imagination, so it kinda ruins the fun of it." Bif gestured to Olicia's proportions as she grew wide-eyed and her face turned red. "Not my type, personally. I prefer-"
"Shut the fuck up!" Olicia cracked Bif in the jaw with her chain. The boy stumbled backwards and grabbed at his face. He both giggled to himself and winced in pain. "Why would you say that? Dumb-ass..."
Avures face-palmed and sighed. Through sheer luck, it seemed as though everything turned out okay. Even with the unforeseen moments, no one died. Though, it seemed that just about everyone got seriously hurt along the way. Avures knew he'd have to be better next time. He'd have to plan more accordingly, and be ready for more mishaps. For it seemed that when his mentality was more sharpened into what he wanted, the more refined his Future Sight became. Avures stood up and watched his two friends ahead of him.
"Don't mind him, Brainiac. That's kinda just been his new joke. Trying to embarrass people." Lylas crept up to Avures and put his hand on his shoulder.
"By openly ogling women in front of them?" Avures raised an eyebrow and looked back at his friend.
"He's not the brightest. Ya know this."
"Still... How's your wound?" Avures looked back to where Lylas had been stabbed.
"Well... It'll hold for now thank to you. We should probably see that cleric soon." Lylas gripped at the stab wound.
"I really hope Rael's back soon with the cart. We really need to-" Avures turned his attention back to the two ahead of him.
"Hey... Avures." Lylas inched himself to the boy's side. "We weren't sure at first if this would work out. I had my doubts... So I'm sorry for not having that much faith in ya. And for what its worth to ya... I'm proud to call ya my friend, as I'm sure everyone else is."
"Lylas... Do you mean that?" Avures knew the answer. But he wasn't sure of himself. To him, they still weren't at that ideal future. Which meant he wasn't worthy of his friend's praise.
"Of course... Now, we can go back to the capital and get paid too." Lylas smiled, knowing that him and his friends just hit it big.
"Actually... Lylas..." Avures felt mixed. He was happy, but he was also uneasy and upset. His friends all got hurt. Not that he could show the joy or understand it in the first place, but it certainly couldn't surface beneath the inadequacy he felt. He should have been able to do more... "Can we make a stop before heading back?"
"I suppose we could. Where at?"
"Kakodo Village."
----------------------------------------
A wooden door slammed open. A crackling fireplace swayed from the wind forced onto it. As it reposed, it outlined a figure's shadow on the wall behind it. The figure whom the shadow belonged to held a book in her hands. Her hair was long, red and somewhat messy. And her eyes bore an all too familiar crimson color.
At the open door, a gray-robed woman rushed in. She slammed the door shut behind her and turned toward the woman reading.
"M-master!-" The robed woman tripped over her feet and fell onto the floorboards. She winced as she swiftly brought herself back up to her feet. Her hood has fallen off, exposing her appearance. The pink hair, the green eyes, the scar on her face...
"I'm sorry. Who are you?" The red-headed woman closed her book shut as she gazed upon the other woman.
"Its!- Right! I forgot." The woman had taken a harsh tone at first, but remembered... "Kataline, remember?"
"Ah, Kataline. Such a useful, but troublesome, power. You're... Back so soon? And without Yuval?" The crimson-eyed woman stood up and walked over to her. The woman's white night gown swayed with each step. She gently placed her hand on Kataline's cheek. "Did something happen, dear?"
"I'm fine... I just-I-I..." Kataline took a deep breath. and stared into her master's eyes. "Temptation... I found her. I found her!"
"You don't mean?..." Temptation lowered her hands from Kataline's face and looked at her with a fire in her eyes.
"Yes! Her! Your visage and all! I ran right into her while looking for Yuval! I still can't believe it either."
"And you didn't bring her back?" Temptation tilted her head to the side.
"A-I-... I wanted to, but I couldn't. She had someone who seemed powerful with her, and then there were all these children... And then I wasn't sure if we could easily activate her receptacle... I did manage to leave a trace of mana on her horse, but..." Kataline looked away from her master's gaze with shame. She rubbed her head as she stammered around.
"Kataline... Darling, I'm disappointed. Your lack of faith in me to activate that receptacle hurts... But, what hurts me more is your unwillingness to give in to that temptation. By Woe, you should have snatched her right away the moment you recognized her!" Temptation grabbed Kataline by both her shoulders and brought her face closer to hers. Kataline could feel her master's warm breath and searing hot gaze on her. But, Temptation let go and stepped away.
"Master... I'm sorry." Kataline hung her head down.
"I've been down my best servant for some time now... And it seems that my next best servant is losing faith..." Temptation sighed as she sat back down in her chair.
"I'm not losing faith! I promise!" Kataline got down to her hands and knees as her eyes still looked to the ground.
"Its a tale as old as time. Someone doing their absolute best and hardest... Doing whatever it takes, to save somebody who cannot be saved. All of this out of love... Yet, yours in particular is quite heart-wrenching. It sticks out to me and tickles the part of my soul that still believes in the truth of love. If the one you loved, our enemy, knew how you felt and who you were... They'd tear you apart without a shred of remorse." Temptation stood up once more and tip-toed to the groveling Kataline. She knelt down and placed her finger under the girl's chin, raising it up. They were eye to eye once more.
"..."
"Your battle... Your idea of love... Its impossible. Yet, you still believe in it despite how hopeless it seems. Your ideals will never change. And that is why I sympathize with you. That is why I will support you no matter what. Its why I trust you, and why I'll make sure that your desired future comes true. That's why you're my best friend, Kataline Kovar. But like all friendships, we must give and we must take. I still need you to do your best out there. No more cold feet. You must do what needs to be done."
"I-... I understand, master... Thank you." The two of them rose to their feet once more. "What do we do now? What do I do now?"
"Now? I must continue to wait this out. You... You must track and follow the other me. Hold caution, and learn as much as you can. If you have an opening, take it. She's the key to our future." Temptation stepped to the fireplace. She watched the flames crackle as she thought about her situation. "Use your best judgment."
"I understand..."
"If only I could get fully get us out of this situation." Temptation sighed as her expression grew angry and annoyed. "The last remnants of our following... Reduced to less than a few hundred and put in hiding within an encircled village because of a couple of mercenaries!... I suppose I don't regret taking that deal as much now, knowing he was telling the truth fully. But if I had known he was going to hire those people..."
Temptation's hand curled into a fist. The fire rose up and became more intense... Then, it died out.