At that moment, a spinning sword flew through the air, running the Angel through the side of his chest. His body was jostled to the side, but before it could collapse onto the rooftop, the sword removed itself from the soldier’s body, returning to an open hand waiting for it. The Angel’s body was pulled from the rooftop, landing on its head, snapping its neck.

Kari turned to face his saviour. A well-built man with majestic shoulder-length, dark blonde hair. He was slightly shorter than Kari, perhaps standing about 165 centimetres tall. He wore a plain dark navy vest and a metal shoulder guard, strapped across his chest with a leather belt. He seemed somewhat familiar, though Kari couldn’t place it.

“Are there any more of them?” the newcomer asked.

Kari peeked cautiously at the street. It seemed safe. The Al Dherjzans were tending to their wounded.

“No,” Kari replied. “That was the last one.”

“Call me Leon. You’re Karl, aren’t you? I remember you from Sarigold. You shouldn’t go running off on your own, it could get you killed.”

“It’s Kari, and while I’m grateful that you saved my life, you are certainly one to talk about running off on your own. Where’s the rest of your group?”

“I didn’t come with one. I’m here to find my sister. I knew that Sarigold was safer than the capital, but she wouldn’t listen.”

Kari shifted on his feet, not completely comfortable sharing what he was about to say next. But he said it anyway. This close encounter had proven that he needed allies right now. “I’m also on a personal quest. I need to reach the hospital. The domed building right over there.”

Leon walked up to Kari, taking a look at the situation himself. “It looks like those people could do with some medical attention too. We should group up and move out together.”

Kari and Leon approached the Al Dherjzans. There were five of them, four standing, two injured.

“We’re on our way to the hospital east of here. You should join us. There is safety in numbers.” Leon told them. They nodded their agreement. Kari noticed their fifth member was laying still. Dead.

They began making their way to the hospital with haste. Fortunately, they had only sustained injuries to their upper bodies. The disgusting stench of roasted meat hung about them.

“What happened?”

“The bombs suddenly stopped, but instead their soldiers were dropping all over the city. They’re targeting our supply chain. We were here to recover silver myrrh for the magic corps, but they ambushed us before we even knew what was happening.” Said one, a man with harrowed eyes and stubble growing on his chin. The two wounded were silent.

“…We’d probably have died without your intervention. Thank you.” Said the other uninjured Al Dherjzan. She was the archer who had killed the last Angel, a woman with long chestnut-brown hair.

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They soon arrived at the hospital, fortunate to avoid any more encounters with the enemy. It was a large, plain-looking rectangular marble building. The hospital’s most significant distinguishing feature was its dome, which bore the stencil of a green starfish, the common symbol of vitality and regeneration. Leon and Kari parted ways with the rest of the group.

“Alright, we’re here. What are you after?” Leon asked Kari.

“Just wait outside. I just need to speak to Carmen.” Kari said simply.

The hospital was pure chaos. People lay everywhere on the floor as nurses worked to triage them. There was a reception desk to the right, and to the left of the desk, a humble stairwell leading both up and down. The smell of blood was mixed with that of pungent herbs and medicine. Through the nearest door on the left, Kari saw various magical materials hung from wires. Behind a curtain, he caught a glimpse of a nurse mashing said herbs with a mortar and pestle, creating a row of healing potions.

The nurses barely paid Kari a glance, seeing that he was uninjured. He knew better than to waste his time asking for directions to see Carmen.

Kari walked through the doorway on the right. He immediately locked eyes with a dark-skinned young woman. She had the most striking indigo irises and dark purple hair. She pulled her eyes away from Kari, returning to her work. She stood over a groaning, bedridden fighter with an amputated leg and a gaping hole in his stomach. A nurse soaked the man’s wounds with some kind of orange liquid, poured from a potion bottle. The purple-haired woman laid her hands on the man’s thigh, just above his grievous injury. He groaned with pain, but before Kari’s unbelieving eyes, the man’s leg regrew completely, strangely hairless. The gaping hole in his side was completely healed in just a few seconds.

There was no mistake, it was Carmen.

Carmen pulled her hands away from the healed man, who had fallen unconscious. A constellation of bloody pinpricks was left on the man’s thigh. The palms of Carmen’s hands weren’t covered in skin, but rather, a shiny, purple substance like stone. A network of purple needles retracted back into her hands.

“You look like someone searching for me, if so, ou’ve come at a good time; that was the last critically wounded patient.” Carmen said, recognising the familiar expression on Kari’s face.

Despite the stressful, disturbing sights and sounds and smells of the bloody hospital, Kari felt a strange serenity about him as Carmen spoke to him.

“Yes. I’ll not waste your time. Can you heal my Gift?” Kari asked.

“I have never healed someone’s Gift before, but I can try. Come here.” Carmen said, beckoning. She didn’t seem particularly bothered by Kari’s request. She was confident, even.

Kari lifted his foot to step closer… and at that moment, there was a blinding flash of pure white light. His arms flew up to shield his eyes. He desperately blinked, trying to clear his vision.

But there was the gut-wrenching sound of someone gasping, struggling to form words.

By the time his vision finally cleared, Kari could only make out the vague shape of someone fallen onto the ground in front of him. There was a wet sound as the nurse that had been beside Carmen blindly stumbled.

“No…” Kari whispered. The word passed out of his lips before he had even realised it. He scrambled to kneel beside Carmen. “NO!”

Carmen struggled to speak, even as the life drained from her eyes. “Tell… tell Rolynd…”

There was urgent, desperate shouting from the nurses. Their cries were ignored by Kari’s deaf ears that strained to hear Carmen’s whispered words. A nurse rolled Carmen over, and it was then that he saw two daggers one in her chest, one in the gap between her neck and collarbone. The nurse quickly took hold of Carmen’s arm and plunged a syringe of red liquid into it, but the miracle worker’s eyes were already glazed over in an all-too-familiar shade of unlife.

“… Fuck…” Kari cursed. He was at a loss for words.

Was he cursed? What had just happened?

The nurse kneeling in Carmen’s blood across from Kari began to weep.