"Nova!" Raid exclaimed, carrying a distinct note of annoyance, just before he deftly dodged a swing from a great axe. The thunderous crash of trees being crushed sounded several meters behind him, a testament to the sheer force of the attack. Raid clicked his tongue in frustration; it was plain that his opponent held little regard for conserving his aura, unleashing an area-of-effect technique in such close quarters. With a quick, calculated backwards leap, Raid aimed to create some breathing room, but his movements felt sluggish, his mind clouded by creeping exhaustion. There was a limit, and he was reaching it.

"Cold-frost hell! Nova, damn it!"

"I heard you the first time; stop yelling!" Nova shouted, emerging seemingly out of thin air from among the trees behind the Imperial knight.

She moved with exceptional speed, rapidly closing the distance between them, her sword abruptly bathed a sapphire-blue glow. The Imperial knight, alerted by her shout, whirled around, strengthening his entire body in anticipation of her attack. He swung his colossal axe vertically, intent on cleaving her in two. Nova remained poised until he committed fully, narrowly avoiding the axe by a hair's breadth with a swift sidestep that didn't slow her momentum.

This daring maneuver was a hallmark of her fighting style, an artform specialized in quick reflexes, precision strikes, speed, and agility. While others might deem it reckless, even borderline insane. This kind of high-risk gambling of intentional near misses was actually a preferred tactic in her artform. It was the 3rd Unorthodox Class of the Water Spider Art, known as Bleeding Crow. Vaguely categorized as a defensive style that relied on audacious evasive maneuvers, sometimes even willingly accepting hits, all in pursuit of exploiting opportunities for swift elimination of the enemy. It adhered closely to the flanker philosophy of high risk, high rewards, in combination with quick and short exchanges.

As the axe plunged deep into the earth, a maelstrom of dirt erupted from the explosive impact. Nova's eyes locked onto her target with an unwavering, intense gaze. Her aura surged like a tidal wave, coursing through her body, preparing herself for what was to come. She reinforced her right wrist for the impending impact, pulling her sword arm back like a coiled spring, fortifying her entire body in anticipation of the recoil. All of this transpired in a fraction of a second. Speed was essential; she couldn't allow him to react, opportunity was key, and she treated all like it was her last.

The moment he came within sword's reach, she still showed no signs of slowing down. It was as if she aimed to crash into him like a force of nature. With a final step, she pushed harder, achieving peak acceleration at point blank. Her sword glowed intensely from excess, uncontrolled, and compounding aura that threatened to blind them both. Her sword illuminated the immediate vicinity, momentarily replacing the sun and casting a bluish daylight hue. Her sword, or more accurately, her aura, emitted an intense cold, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet. Even from a distance, Raid could feel it, albeit only slightly.

Abruptly, and simultaneously, in sync with her final push, mere moments before collision, Nova struck with her rapier. In that fraction of an instant, she shouted, "Flare!" The tip slamming into his chest with a blinding burst of energy.

A torrent of sparks erupted from her sword's tip as it struck. Reminiscent of the sparks produced by a blacksmith hammering in his forge, except these were a vibrant blue. The man's protective aura struggled to absorb the attack, crumbling almost immediately, leaving only his armor as his last safeguard. But against this specific attack, most if not all armor was relegated to mere decoration. The sparks effortlessly bore through him, emerging from the other side. He made no sound; death was instantaneous.

Soon after, ice began to manifest within the cavity that was once the man's chest, spreading rapidly until it encased his entire form. Nova delicately pushed the now frozen corpse aside, toppling it over as if it were a statue. Her breathing was erratic, and in clear pain, her body currently experiencing high strain and recoil.

Raid, now inching closer, fixed his gaze upon the wound that had claimed the man's life. His chest looked as if it had been melted through. "You know," he said with effort, breathless. "If Marcus saw what you did just now. He'd be quite sad."

A wry smile tugged at her lips as she fought to regain her breath. "Good thing... he isn't here then." Her chest heaved, and she tried to catch her breath, but each inhale felt shallower than the last, a growing sense of unease settling about her. It was as if the air itself had turned to molasses, and anxiety clawed at her throat. They both stood there for what seemed like half a minute, their breaths coming in ragged bursts, before Nova could finally continue. "Unless, you wanted me to drag the fight out longer."

He shook his head, sweat trickling down his neck. "Not really… any later and I would have been dead. But please, avoid the near suicidal weaving in the future. At least not when I am around. Makes me damn anxious. What if that axe had landed and your coverage failed?"

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"You're not the only one with a brain fretter, I am well aware. Like you said, any later and you'd be dead, so don't complain about my save. And for note, my aura was about to give if I hadn't risked it."

"Ahh fuck…" Raid groaned. The symptoms of what they referred to as Aura Withdrawal increasing in severity, caused when there is a severe lack of aura in a user's body. "I can't even link anymore. My aura is throwing a tantrum, I want to puke."

Nova nodded, a sympathetic grimace on her face as a wave of nausea washed over her. She sank into a squat, her arms resting on her knees as she battled the urge to crumple to the ground. If it were just the usual side effects caused by low reserves, it would've been bearable. However, the symptoms coupled with the recoil imposed on her body by the use of Flare was currently making it very difficult to stay sane.

"So, Nova, whatever happened to regrouping with the others? Because the way I see it, we've been doing the exact opposite of that. If we ran into another knight, hell, not even that, infantry can kill us at this point."

"Can I just state, just in case I can't tell you later on. That I fucking hate you very much, and that I hope you die a crippling and agonising death."

"Really? That's great to hear, I hope so too. I'm glad we finally have something in common. They say a man hasn't truly lived his life if it isn't painful," he said with a tired grin.

"Ohh, fuck off," she rasped, dread nestling in as she foresaw an impending headache.

"Aye… can you walk? You don't look so good."

"Oh, me? Walk? Actually I was thinking maybe we should just drop dead right here and now. You know, sleep in each other's arms and shit."

"I think a rotting corpse would make better company than you Nova. If I went to hell with you, I think they'd reject me."

"Really? If not hell, then where? Do you think you'd just magically revive if hell rejects you?"

"On second thought, maybe dying in your arms doesn't sound so bad. In both cases, I leave you."

"You can't leave me in hell, we've got an eternity to drink and share stories together."

"You barely drink. What's there to share if we already know everything about each other?"

"I don't know, we'll just make stuff up," she said, slowly standing up, discomfort still clear on her face. "And even between you and me. I know for a fact there are a thing or two we keep to ourselves." She sniffled, feeling a warm liquid flowing from her nostrils down to her lips. Nova made to pitch her nose to stem the bleeding, hoping her advance healing would remedy it soon. "I am never using Flare again in my life. Raid... you ok? You're stumbling a bit there, do you need my shoulder?"

"I'm fine," he said weakly. "I think if you lent me your shoulder, we'd both collapse," he continued, his voice strained. "I feel like I'm dying but..."

"Really? That's shocking," she said sarcastically. "Well... now what do we do? should we continue with the plan? Regroup?"

"No, absolutely not. It's clearly not working. And unlike before, if we run into anyone in this state, we're going to die. So listen, I have a new plan, a genius one. We hide."

"You're joking, right? We hide? I'm disappointed in you, where's your honor?"

"I don't want to hear that from you, you're the furthest thing from it. Hey, don't give me that look, what do you want us to do then? Neither of us can walk, we don't have enough aura to fight, we're surrounded by enemies, and, here the kicker, we're a tad lost."

"I can walk..." she stated, sulking. "But yeah, I get your point. We find a place and rest for a bit ok? Then, we regroup. It's not like we're helpless without our aura, we're still knights."

"Agreed, now let's fin— woah, Nova, what are you doing?"

"What do you think I am doing? Walking."

"Yeah, bullshit. You're befriending the Maid, that's what you're doing. Come here, I'll carry you."

"Carry me?" she said, amused. "Buddy, you look like you're half a foot in the grave yourself. Who are you trying to impress huh? And what happened to the whole hiding thing?"

"It was a joke. I wasn't actually serious about the whole hiding thing."

"Sure… I believe you, completely."

Something blared, spurring the both of them to immediately perk up their ears, straining to catch the distant sounds coming from behind them. The sounds were unmistakable, yet unfamiliar, the Imperial signal of retreat.

Nova's eyes widened in surprise. "Do you hear that?"

"Yeah. Sounds like they're pulling back. Does that mean we won?"

"Great, let's hurry back. At least now we won't have to worry about running into Lemfords like it's a greeting party. I think I know roughly where our allies are, roughly."

"By roughly do you mean a specific area, or just the general direction? I am curious."

"Does it matter?" she said with irritation. "Unless you want to just sit here and do nothing? The battlefield isn't that big, a little wandering and we'll find them."

"How about this instead: the signal just came, so the place is still crawling with Lemfords. How about we camp and wait for them to pass, then we search? We can rest and recover what little aura we can in the meantime. I don't think we can get far in our current condition anyway."

"I guess we could..." she sighed, visibly drained. "Fine, let's do that."