THE second wave of Spirits, a monstrous tide surging from the Forbidden Forest, had swallowed Andania whole. The once-bustling town lay in ruins, a tapestry of dust and debris stained crimson with the blood of fallen Luyas Knights and townsfolk. Shinji felt a crushing weight in his chest, a suffocating guilt for those he couldn't save. He had just managed to shield himself and Mika from the electrifying bolt launched by a three-winged Spirit with a desperate, last-minute barrier.
The ground shuddered with violence that sent tremors through Shinji's bones. The Luyas Knights and townsfolk, valiant but no match for the sheer number of the Spirits, were gone in an instant. A raw, primal fear gnawed at the edges of his guilt. He had to get Mika out of there. With a hiss escaping his lips from the throbbing pain in his head, Shinji clambered out of the crater they had taken refuge in.
"Come on, Mika," he urged, pulling her out and scanning their surroundings with a frantic gaze. Relief washed over him momentarily when he saw no immediate threats.
"Your head," Mika gasped, pointing at the gash bleeding freely on his temple.
Shinji shrugged, his voice gruff. "It's nothing. We need to go."
They sprinted for the cover of crumbled houses, Shinji leading the way, his breaths shallow and rapid. Mika followed close behind, her once vibrant emerald eyes clouded with a nascent fear that mirrored his own. Reaching the flimsy shelter, Shinji peeked out, his gaze darting between the ravaged streets. Spotting three winged Spirits circling overhead like monstrous crows, he cursed under his breath. He drew his gun, a familiar weight in his hand, and aimed with practised ease.
Two of the Spirits plummeted to the ground with a sickening thud, their unearthly shrieks cut short by Shinji's well-placed bullets. The remaining Spirit, enraged by the deaths of its kin, screeched a string of guttural curses in a language that scraped against Shinji's ears. He reloaded his gun, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs. Just as he aimed for the final blow, a strangled cry tore from Mika's throat. She clutched her head, her face contorting in an agonising grimace.
"Mika! What's wrong?" Shinji spun around, alarm etching lines on his forehead.
"The words…" Mika choked out, her voice trembling. "The Spirit's words… triggered something." A torrent of fragmented memories, vivid and terrifying, bombarded Mika's mind. Images flashed before her eyes – a life she couldn't grasp, a past shrouded in darkness.
A scream ripped from her throat, a primal sound laced with despair.
"Mika!" Shinji lunged for her, but a blur of movement cut him short. With a ferocious screech, the last Spirit launched itself at Shinji from above. He barely had time to raise his arm in a futile defence before the Spirit slammed into him, sending them both crashing to the ground. Before he hit the ground in the split second, his finger spasmodically squeezed the trigger. The bullet fired blindly and flew wildly off course.
Horror flooded Shinji as he realised where the bullet was headed. It careened towards Mika, striking her right wrist with a sickening crack. The jade bracelet that adorned her wrist for as long as he could remember shattered into a million pieces.
The air around them shimmered, and Shinji's nostrils filled with the sweet scent of wildflowers—a scent humans couldn't detect. The remaining Spirit, its three wings beating wildly, inhaled deeply, a look of feral delight contorting its face. It had found what it had been searching for all these years—salvation.
A deafening shriek broke the strange tranquillity.
The Spirit whipped its head around, attention drawn to a new figure. Floating in the air, bathed in an ethereal glow, was Mika. Her transformation was both breathtaking and terrifying. Her hair, once the colour of polished emerald, had cascaded down her back, now wild and untamed. Her eyes, usually warm and kind, had morphed into pools of molten amber, glowing with an inner fire. Razor-sharp fangs glinted in the fading light, and her nails, once neatly manicured, had extended into lethal claws.
Shinji stared in disbelief, a cold dread slithering down his spine. Before him was a creature of raw power and untamed fury. He remained focused. He gripped firmly on his gun, inhaled deeply, and then carefully took aim at the winged Spirit.
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GRANTS Rogue and his Rescue Units arrived at the town's entrance gate. All assumptions and expectations they ever had went straight down to hell as none of them prepared themselves for the scenes before them: corpses of men and Spirits covered in rubbles and debris, scattered on the ground everywhere.
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Grants quickly ordered his men to secure the perimeters, and his men moved quickly and silently. The deeper he went, the worse he felt in the pit of his stomach. The thick smell of death lingered heavily in the air, which he was all too familiar with. It reminded him of the many battles he had faced in the past as he fought for his Kingdom, losing comrades and subordinates in between.
Don't go there, Grants. He clenched his teeth. She might still be alive and not buried somewhere. I just need to find her and make—
A terrifying scream shook Grants entirely out of his thoughts. He quickly spurted around and saw his subordinates struggling to fight off something or someone.
"Mika…?" Grants' eyes widened. His face turned pale.
Mika disappeared in the blink of an eye before reappearing in front of the five knights. Swiftly, she kicked and slammed them on the ground as if the soldiers were made out of soft toys. Grants had to watch in horror as one by one of his men were slain and thrown into piles of brick, breaking their necks instantly.
For once in twenty-five years of serving as a soldier, the Commandant finally understood the meaning of fear as he stood stiffly, watching his youngest subordinate lick the bloodstains of his men on her sharp claws with a satisfied grin. Mika gradually turned her attention to Grants with a long, wicked smile.
Her smile stroked deep fear into the Commandant's heart as he slowly took a few steps back. Her paces increased, and she was about to pound and rip him apart when, out of nowhere, the sound of gunfire reached her sensitive hearing. Mika backflipped, avoiding getting hit by the incoming bullets. Turning her head to face her shooter, she smugly smirked but quickly changed to surprise when two more bullets were fired at her.
More bullets aimed toward her, and she avoided them all easily. One bullet aimed at her left foot almost got her. As she landed to the ground, halfway in midair, something painful pounded her head, causing Mika to lose her footing and fall to the ground. Completely distracted by the pain, Mika failed to sense another bullet being fired at her.
"NO!" Grants' grouched voice echoed loudly as he dashed quickly toward her when something even faster flew by him.
A vast shadow dropped above and landed before Mika, shielding her from the bullet with its substantial bat-like wings. Letting a sharp gasp when a warm body held her close, Mika felt a warm liquid dripping out from the Spirit's chest, where the bullet went through.
Shinji stood from his place with his gun pointed outward in shock at what was happening. His ears picked up the soft words as the dying Spirit whispered in its mother tongue:
"Restore our future... The forsaken promising prophecy…Princess."
There was a long pause after the winged Spirit's death. Everyone was too shocked and distraught by what had just happened when, all of a sudden, a muffled sound broke the heavy silence. It started with soft giggles before escalating to hair-rising laughter.
All eyes were on Mika as she laughed hysterically. Goosebumps crawled underneath their skin when the laughter faded, and a wicked, sinister smirk replaced it. Mika lifted one leg above the now lifeless Spirit's head and threatened to crush it had it been for Shinji, who fired a bullet near her feet again.
"That's enough!" Shinji yelled angrily. His patience grew thin.
Jumping and landing a distance away from the corpse, Mika bared her fangs and growled angrily at Shinji. With a speed of light, she disappeared from her spot and reappeared a couple of seconds later — sharp claws just a few inches away from his face, ready to shred him.
Shinji blocked her assault with his arm, then swiftly brought his other hand and knocked her with an uppercut. Mika growled angrily. Bloodstained at the corner of her lips from getting hit earlier, which she rubbed off roughly. Charging towards him again, Mika raised her claws toward him.
The moment the Spirit was close, Shinji grabbed her arms in a twist and dragged her down to the ground. He held her face firmly pressed on the ground while his left knee pressed on her back, and his left hand held firmly on her right wrist. He wasted no time and recited a spell. A soft, glowing green light emitted from his hand.
Shinji grunted as he recited the spell while desperately trying to subdue her. Hissed in frustration, Mika lifted her freed hand, hoping to land another strike at the man on top of her, when a pair of strong hands held her hand and pressed it firmly on the ground.
Recognition flickered in Grant's eyes despite the raw power radiating off Mika. Ignoring the danger, he cautiously approached the struggling pair and helped the young man. One moment, he was observing from afar, and the next, he was on both knees, holding down his aggressive subordinate on the ground while waiting for the young man to finish up with whatever he was doing.
"Tiiviste!"
As soon as the word came out from Shinji's mouth, the glowing green light surrounding Mika gathered on her right wrist. The light slowly took the shape and form of a jade bracelet – the same bracelet that had been on Mika's wrist for years before it shattered. Once the entire transformation was completed, Mika gasped as if she had been holding her breath the whole time. Her hair, eyes, and teeth had returned to their original state.
Letting go of her hand gently and placing it beside her, Shinji carefully turned Mika over to lay on her back. Mika lifted her head very weakly. With a blurred vision, she saw Shinji now nursing his bleeding arm.
"I'm... So... Sorry…" Mika muttered softly before darkness took over her.
Grants glanced at the young man next to him. When their eyes finally met, Shinji gave a short nod and thanked him for his assistance.
"It was nothing. I... should have helped out earlier," Grants said, feeling drained by what had happened.
Turning around, he was about to ask a question when he saw Shinji's eyeball roll at the back of his head as he collapsed on the ground.