Chapter 11: Breaking Through the Darkness

Chapter 11:
Breaking Through the Darkness

 

FLUM LOST TRACK of the passage of time as she sat there, cradling her head and staring at the floor. She could have sworn it was an eternity, though a few hours seemed more likely. The sun still hadn’t risen and the hallway was dark, which told her something.

Her throat was bone dry. She stopped sweating a long time ago. Though her body fiercely demanded water, she couldn’t work up the will to stand and go to the kitchen.

Clack.

Flum felt the door shake behind her. The doorknob rattled, and the door smacked against her back several times.

“Huh? That’s strange, the door won’t open. I know I didn’t lock it…”

Flum’s whole body tensed up immediately. That was Ink’s voice echoing out from the room.

Should she move? Should she step back and face the girl?

She had to. It wasn’t even a question. Ink was one and the same as the creature she encountered back at the research lab.

Which could only mean…

“Hey, it’s open. Uh, hey, is someone there?”

Flum took to a knee off to the side of the door, her Souleater ready at hand. She heard a faint, steely ringing as she tightened her grip. The black blade glowed with captured moonlight.

Her breath came out in ragged gasps as the door opened and Ink stepped out.

“I hear breathing. Is that you, Flum? Hey, don’t be so quiet. Are you there?”

Her face…was back to normal. She looked just like the Ink she’d seen so many times before. Was there some sort of condition that had to be met for her to transform? Or did she do it at will? Flum had no way of knowing, nor did she know what to believe anymore. She knew Ink’s transformation was no dream. Of that much she could be certain.

Sara was gone. Ed and Jonny were dead. Ottilie was missing. Eterna still wasn’t home. Milkit disappeared. There were countless other victims, too.

If Ink was somehow at the center of this…

Flum stood up, clasped the hilt with both hands, and raised her sword high into the air.

All it would take was one swing. But would it kill her? It seemed doubtful. These things didn’t die until their core was destroyed. Was it in her heart or somewhere else?

Cut her in two and find out…

Flum’s arms shook. Logic obliged her to attack; compassion implored her to stop.

“You’re out there, aren’t you, Flum? Anyway, welcome home. I’m sorry I didn’t stay up for you. It looks like I fell asleep and just suddenly woke up here on the second floor. I must’ve been really tired. Y’know, that used to happen to me a lot. They always yelled at me for sleepwalking like that.”

“Hn…”

“C’mon Flum, stop playing around. I have sharp ears, y’know. It’s so quiet that I can hear your heart beating.”

Should she kill her? Could she kill her? Maybe, just maybe, that thing she saw earlier wasn’t even Ink. Maybe the creature just waited until Ink was asleep and then traded places with her in order to scare Flum.

It made sense, in a way. That didn’t mean that it was true.

“Ink…” Flum called out to her. A look of relief spread across Ink’s face before her cheeks puffed out an instant later in annoyance.

“Took you long enough! I was starting to wonder what I’d do if it wasn’t actually you here!” She sounded just like a normal, ten-year-old human girl.

A human…

If she wasn’t a human, then what was she?

What was the point of looking human again after revealing that thing? Was it to keep pushing Flum’s buttons? Or perhaps to make her let down her guard? If that was the case, then why didn’t it kill her earlier? They were living together, after all. There must’ve been a reason. Why, why, why?

She just didn’t understand any of what was going on, and no matter how hard she thought about it, no answers were forthcoming. It didn’t make sense.

“It seems like you didn’t find Milkit, I guess. I’m really sorry ’bout that, but who knows, maybe she’ll come back in the morning…”

“You don’t remember anything?” Flum figured she may as well open Pandora’s Box herself.

Ink cocked her head to the side. “Remember what?”

Flum swallowed. Her throat was dry, and her voice raspy. “There were… You turned into a creature, and eyeballs were coming out of your face.”

“What?! What’re you talking about, Flum?! That’s a really mean joke to try and play on someone!”

“No, I’m not joking at all! And I know what I saw. Just a little while ago, I saw you with my own two eyes, and you were some sort of bizarre creature! I saw it, I know!” Flum’s cries reverberated through the empty house and escaped out to the streets.

“There’s just no way, Flum…”

“You were, I’m not mistaken. I heard it; I could smell it. I can even remember the warmth coming off of you! Ink, you definitely weren’t human! You were some kind of creature that was spitting out eyeballs!!”

Ink could tell by Flum’s tone that she was serious. She began to shake her head aggressively, murmuring to herself. “No…no no no… I’m a human.”

“No, you’re not.”

They were at an impasse.

“I am, I really am a human…”

“You stopped being a human when they experimented on you like they did with the second-generation children.”

“They didn’t do anything to me. I would’ve remembered that!”

“I’ve finally figured out what that medicine was. It was to suppress your powers.”

“You’ve got it all wrong!”

“Now that your powers aren’t suppressed anymore, you chased Sara down with those eyeball things.”

“No! I’d never do anything to hurt Sara. You, Sara…you’re all very important to me!”

Flum’s anger got the best of her. “How many people died at your hands?!”

Ink could only stand there dumbfounded in the face of her sudden outburst. Perhaps deep down, she knew that Flum wasn’t wrong.

“Maybe you’re right.”

That feeling quickly turned to self-doubt. Her eyes were sewn shut. There was nothing normal about her body. The eyes chasing everyone had to come from someone.

The evidence, though circumstantial, pointed to Ink.

“I don’t know… I really don’t know!!” Ink wailed.

“Milkit disappeared, Eterna’s still not home! And Sara, Ed, Jonny, Ottilie… They’re all gone!!”

“No, no, no! Why won’t you believe me?!”

“Just look at yourself! How could I possibly believe you after I saw you as that…that creature?!”

Flum had never wanted to say these things to her. She always figured that, if it was what Ink wanted, she could live with them just like how she and Milkit made their home together. But now that future was crumbling around her.

“I’m not… I’m not a monster!”

With that, Ink took off toward the stairs. However, she missed a step on the way down and tumbled all the way to the first floor.

She hurt all over. Ink began to sob bitterly, grabbing the edge of the shirt Flum lent her to dry her eyes. She caught a whiff of Flum’s scent in the process. This brought back another wave of sadness as the memories of the time they spent together flooded her mind.

The force of that sadness somehow pushed her back up to her feet and sent her running down the hallway, slamming into the walls as she went, before she finally found the entrance to the house and stepped out into the street, not even bothering with her shoes. The cool night air was a bitter reminder that she was all alone.

Flum made no attempt to stop her. The Souleater dropped from her hand with a dull thud, and Flum collapsed next to it. She closed her eyes and angled her face toward the ceiling.

She was crying, too, though she couldn’t say for sure why. Her cries, screams, and sobs came together into a cacophony of her pain, fighting for some way out into the world. Flum buried her head in her hands and bent over until her forehead hit the floor. Then again, but harder. Again, again, and over again until she could feel blood staining the floor with each blow. The pain was its own punishment.

Through it all, she screamed herself hoarse.

Outside, Ink stopped running as Flum’s screams caught up with her.

She wasn’t the only one crying. She wasn’t the only one in pain right now. This wasn’t some attempt to play on Ink’s emotions. Flum was crying with her whole heart and soul, which could only mean one thing: she was telling the truth. Ink knew then that Flum really had seen her as a monster.

Ink bit down hard on her lip. Her whole body shook, wracked by sobs. She didn’t want to believe it, but she knew the place she was raised was anything but normal. She had no idea what they did to her while she was there or why she was raised like that.

This was all her fault. It was all because she’d been useless, not allowed to be like the rest. If she’d known it would come to this, she would never have run away. She could’ve lived the rest of her life in her walled garden, like a domesticated animal. She probably would’ve never found happiness, but she would’ve been spared this misery.

Ink turned around to make her way back to the house. “Flu…nng?!”

A figure came up behind her, pulled her arms tight behind her back, and placed a hand over her mouth. She tried to resist, but there was little she could do.

For the split second that she managed to get her mouth free, she screamed with all her might.

 

***

 

“Noooooooooooo!!”

Ink’s cry for help found its way to Flum’s ears from her place on the floor, her head still pressed against the floorboards. The cry stopped nearly as quickly as it started, but Flum knew what she heard. She reflexively leapt to her feet to help the young girl but didn’t move any further.

She’d already called Ink a monster, kicked her out of the house. It seemed pointless to chase after her now. And yet…

With Milkit gone, what reason did she have to play hero? Flum Apricot was just like any other girl her age. There was no need for her to put herself on the line.

And yet, she couldn’t suppress the feeling welling up within her.

“If I don’t help her, I know I’ll regret it!”

Maybe it didn’t make sense. She knew that already. Flum resolved not to try make sense of it for now. She would save Ink. Whether it was to let her live or kill her herself…was yet to be seen.

She dashed into Ink’s room and dove out the open window. Her Epic-class leather boots began to glow as she leapt through the air. She skidded along the ground, braking with her free hand. Now it was time to look for Ink.

“Over there!” She instantly recognized the man pinning Ink’s arms back. “Ink!”

“Mmmph! Mmpphh!!”

“Hey, you did show up.”

“What the hell are you doing here, Dein?!”

“What am I doing here? Why, looking for our escaped guinea pig, of course. I thought she might be here and, wouldn’t ya know it, I was right. I’ve got a pretty keen eye for these things.” Dein put further pressure on Ink’s body, pressing her arms even further back. Her face contorted in pain.

“Let Ink go!!”

“Not gonna happen. Besides, didn’t you two get in a fight or something? I’m pretty sure I heard you calling her a creature. The sad thing is that it’s all true, though. Gyahahaha!”

“Damn you, Dein!!”

“Whoa, you’re looking pretty scary there, Flum. Did I hit a bit too close to home?” He didn’t look scared at all. In fact, he looked relaxed. “Hey, Flum, did you know she’s a failed experiment?”

“I don’t know, nor do I care to!”

“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. As you realized, she’s got no idea she’s a living weapon! That’s absolutely deplorable, for one of the children!”

“Mmmmppphh!!”

A creature. A murderer.

Ink shook her head vigorously at this. She didn’t want to believe it.

Dein didn’t care. In fact, he took great joy in continuing, “There are conditions you gotta meet to release Origin’s power. In her case, that’s when her medicine wears off and she’s fallen into a deep sleep. I guess ‘release’ ain’t the right word. It’s more like her body succumbs to Origin’s power, yeah? Just imagine: while you were all sleeping soundly in your beds, she’d turn into that disgusting thing and spew eyeballs. It’s funny as hell when you think about it, considering she was the one that chased down your friends, your guardian, and even your little slave! Gyahahaha!!”

He really seemed to be enjoying himself, though there was something in his laugh that rang hollow.

“Do you know where Milkit went?!”

Dein belted out a cruel laugh. “Oh, but I do! I know all too well, in fact. Right now, she’s in a place where her beloved master will find her, being transformed into one of those fleshy abominations!”

“I’m going to kill you, you miserable son of a…!” Flum drew her sword and launched toward Dein.

“Listen kid, I’m just here to bring back a creature that escaped. You really should be more worried about those guys.”

Right on cue, the men Flum saw following Dein around on his duties with the church stepped out of the shadows. Their eyes were glassy and distant—dead men’s eyes. The church must have done something to them.

“How pathetic…! Even when you’re at your lowest, you still manage to muster up some people to do your bidding!”

“Hey, they’re just happy to be of some use to me.”

“Are you sure you didn’t brainwash them and turn them into your pawns?!”

“I dunno why you’re so angry, kid. These guys were out to kill you before. What, you some kind of champion of justice now?” Dein’s anger reeked of projection. Overcome with emotion for a moment, he finally regained his composure and let out an awkward laugh. “Well, as long as I’m okay, that’s all that matters. At least that much is true.”

“You’ve discarded away everything but your own cowardice. Just what value do you bring to the world?”

“Nng…shut up!!!” Dein leveled his crossbow toward Flum. “What the hell do you know?! What does anyone know about all I’ve lost?!”

“Are you going to shoot or not?”

“Grr…”

Dein clenched his hands in white-hot rage. If he didn’t shoot, he was letting her tread all over his pride yet again. After several deep breaths, his anger seemed to melt away.

“Well, my client told me not to kill you, Flum. So I guess that’s that.” He gave a weak, unconvincing laugh and forced a grin to his face. “I’d love to see you dead, but they’ll kill me too if I disobey orders. And let me tell you, I’m really not keen on being murdered. Hahaha! Anyway, let me leave you with a warning, then.”

“A warning?”

“What can I say, I’m a nice guy. See those guys over there? Don’t harm them and don’t even think about chasing after me. Just run. You see, they’re a lot more like this girl here than you know.”

“Is this how you plead for your life?”

“Gahaha! Hardly! I’m just thinking about you, Flum. Not like I think you could hold yourself back anyway. But hey, just try to stay alive, huh?”

“Mmmmmpph!!”

With that, Dein hefted Ink up and took off running. Ink reached out for Flum, begging to be saved.

“Ink!!”

Flum tried to take up chase but quickly found her path blocked by Dein’s men. There were at least ten of them closing in around her, armed to the teeth. Further off, there were yet more men with bows, crossbows, and slingshots standing atop nearby roofs. It seemed like a bit much for just one girl.

Flum cast Scan on the nearest man. He was a top-tier C-Rank, with a total stat value of 2,482. His strength and endurance were around 600 each, while his magic, agility, and perception were all over 400. Considering that Dein’s stats made him a solid B-Rank adventurer on his own, she figured this made this C-rank dude the leader of the throng currently surrounding her. Just to be sure, she decided to cast Scan on another person.

What she saw left her without words. “They’re exactly the same??”

He, too, had a total stat value of 2,482. Flum felt a sense of dread creep up on her as she cast Scan on each one. One thing quickly became evident:

“These guys all have the same name, affinities, and stats!”

Dein’s men were all copies of each other in every sense except their physical appearances. Past the initial confusion, nothing really surprised Flum anymore. She’d been through too much.

“This has to be the church’s doing.”

Dein must have betrayed the men who followed him even after he lost his influence in his bid to join the church. Flum clenched her jaw so hard she could hear her teeth grind. Dein was right; these men were hardly innocents. At the same time, that was partially out of their loyalty to Dein—loyalty he betrayed so he could save his own hide.

“I can’t let this keep happening!”

Flum refocused her growing rage into strength and lunged straight into the fray.

This was the first time she’d ever fought so many opponents at once. Even though she was stronger than each of them individually, as a group, the gap in power was immense. She didn’t know if she stood a chance. She’d need to make the most of her ability to regenerate and her Reversal magic if she planned on seeing this through.

The first matter of business was to thin them out.

Fwooosh! Flum drew her Souleater and swept it in a wide arc. As the men on the ground fell back in unison, an archer on the neighboring rooftop fired. Flum caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and focused her magic energy down into her feet, casting her spell fractions of a second before the arrow found its mark.

“Reversion!”

The arrow swiveled in place and reversed course, spearing the archer in the neck. He grabbed at the bolt, stumbling back and pitching over the eaves.

“Well, that’s one!”

The small victory emboldened her, but she knew her Reversal magic would only be useful against attacks she could anticipate. A surprise attack would neutralize her advantage.

The next attack came from one of the men with her in the street. He rushed her with his spear set, trying to run her through.

Shwick! The spear caught her square in the shoulder. He had her beat for reach; she couldn’t hide inside Souleater’s circle of blood.

The battle seemed unlikely to end any time soon as long as they kept up this hit-and-run style. She was left with only one choice: take the blows as they came and focus on getting in hits of her own. Blood sprayed from the wound as intense pain radiated through her body. Flum’s grip on the Souleater loosened for a moment, but then she quickly found her footing again and grabbed the spear’s shaft, wrenching it from the man’s hand. As soon as it was free, she yanked it out of her shoulder and threw it to the ground.

The now-unarmed man fled while two more, each armed with swords, rushed in to fill his place and another spearman advanced from the rear.

She decided to press the attack. Ducking between the swords, Flum launched toward the ex-spearman who landed a blow on her earlier. Just as she got in close, he spun around and held his fists at the ready.

“C’mere, you li’l punk!” Flum brought the Souleater down on him in an overhead slash; he caught the blow with his bracer, then closed in on Flum and punched her in the gut. “Gyauuh?!”

He went through the motions so easily, like a born grappler. But the way he’d handled the spear earlier was also the work of no novice. It was bizarre that such a talented adventurer, skilled in so many forms of combat, would so willingly accept such a low position in Dein’s camp. Not impossible, of course, but highly unlikely.

A startling realization slowly came to her. Could they share their fighting abilities, too?

That would mean they were all experts at pretty much any style of combat.

While her attention was diverted, another spear skewered her from behind.

“Aaauugh!!” She yanked it out and focused on the next attack, this time from a man angling to sever her head. Flum caught the blow with her right gauntlet, though the force behind it still shattered her wrist. Another archer up ahead scored a direct blow on her shoulder.

Another man on a rooftop to her left shot a fireball at her left foot, blasting right through her flesh and sending Flum tumbling to the ground.

“Nnngaaaaauuuugh!”

As pain ripped through her body, she lost more and more fine control of her movements. There was no surviving a fight with these parameters. Flum frantically scanned her surroundings for an alleyway leading away from the clearing, but every option was just too far to be of any use.

In the interest of lightening her load, she decided to send the Souleater back to its parallel dimension. She rolled clear of an arrow and used her momentum to get back up onto her feet, popping up behind one of the incoming men. His guard was down, probably figuring she would make a run for the alley—

“Have at it!!” The Souleater flashed back into her hands as she swung at his neck. FWOOSH!

The man dropped into a crouch, effortlessly dodging her blow.

You can’t be serious?

Flum was completely taken aback. The man’s movements were so smooth she could’ve sworn he had eyes in the back of his head. Maybe he did, in a way. Maybe in addition to their stats and skills, the men were sharing their senses as well. That was the only explanation that made any sense to her.

Yet more arrows and magic attacks rained down on her while Flum stood dumbfounded. She had to stay out of the ranged fighters’ line of sight, but if she stayed in cover for too long, the men in the square would surround her.

Dein’s words came back to her: “Don’t harm them or even think about chasing after me. Just try and escape.”

It annoyed her to no end to have to follow Dein’s advice, but that was beginning to seem like the only appropriate choice left.

Flum stumbled forward on unsteady feet as she made her way to the nearest alley. Though many of her wounds had already begun to heal, the pain was still so extreme that it hampered her ability to move.

She heard the men giving chase intermingling with the sounds of magic, arrows, and stones flying all around her. As long as she could break out of their trap, she knew that she was fast enough to get clear. Even if they did catch up, the alleys were narrow enough that she could limit it to one-on-one combat.

Just a little farther…

Flum felt spells blast past either side of her and watched as fireballs slammed through the exterior wall of a nearby house and exploded. The wall crumbled in front of her, blocking her path. She could probably still climb it, but that would give her pursuers even more time to catch up. Flum glanced over her shoulder in desperation, only to catch two more arrows: one in her stomach and another in her thigh.

“Hnnnnghph!”

She yanked them both out, creating openings for more arrows, spells, and a man with a bludgeon closing in fast. Feeling desperation set in, Flum struck wildly.

The man easily dodged her attack and lunged in with his metal club. Flum considered launching a counterstrike of her own, but he would weave past it thanks to the men’s shared vision. What choice did she have but to take the blow?

Her lips curled into a grin. Maybe this was her chance.

She concentrated all of her energy down into her legs and touched the tips of her boots against a stone around ten centimeters square.

“Reversion!”

CRACK!

The stone flipped around, catching the man’s leg in the empty space as it turned, and snapped the bone in an instant. He lost his balance and crumpled to the floor. No matter how good their vision may have been, they couldn’t avoid an attack like that.

“Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!” Flum brought her blade down with all her might and chopped the man in two along a neat diagonal from shoulder to gut. “That’s two down!”

They still had a massive numbers advantage, but even two fewer opponents to worry about lessened the pressure. The men showed no reaction to the loss of their comrade. As one cohesive being, it was hard to call them human anymore. They functioned like puppets, living only to serve Dein’s commands.

She couldn’t let her guard down just yet. Flum danced around one magic attack after another as she drew closer toward her next opponent. Now that she’d tipped her hand, she probably couldn’t use the same trick again.

She heard something drop down next to her as she mulled over how she could stop her next opponent.

“Huh?”

There was an eye in the street. It didn’t stop there. One after another, they flooded in from every direction: from the sky, out of gutters, from behind her, from the same direction as the oncoming men.

Dein’s words resonated in her mind again: “Don’t harm them.”

“Is this what he meant?”

Ink had no recollection of killing anyone; no idea what she became at night. Her power activated without her input. The eyes were probably a self-defense mechanism to protect the church’s secrets that took advantage of Ink’s lack of control.

Why didn’t the first man she’d killed count, then? Flum figured it could’ve been because he died from his own arrow.

“I was having a tough enough time fighting them on their own!”

She dove out of the way, hoping to get clear, but it was too late. An eye latched onto her boot and began to seep through the leather. It didn’t exactly hurt, but it made her skin crawl.

“Eyaugh!” Flum’s body stiffened as she felt the eyeball make its way deep into her leg. A moment later, she heard an awful sound as her leather boot expanded. Something was growing out of her ankle.

Making matters worse, a man armed with a dagger chose that moment to lunge in, aiming straight for her heart.

PWUUSH! The blade bit way clean through her hand as she threw it up in front of her. “Aauughh…”

Her opponent yanked the blade out to prepare for a second strike, but Flum grabbed it by the hilt. She kicked the man’s legs out from under him, sending him tumbling into the sea of eyeballs. They did their best to avoid their fallen ally, scattering like roaches in a newly lit room, but weren’t completely successful. His torso began to bulge where it touched the ground, almost as if new organs were rapidly forming inside him. He tried to get back to his feet but just flailed on the ground like a wounded bug.

“Aw’right, that’s three!” There were still quite a few more for her to deal with, though.

The next round of arrows and spells grazed past her. Every dodge was a small miracle for Flum with the new leg weighing her down. The eyes put an end to her plan to escape to the alleys. Her options were looking thin on the ground.

If I were up against normal human opponents, I might stand a chance here. Since this new limb isn’t technically an injury, the Souleater isn’t helping me recover from it. That only leaves one real option…

Flum stabbed the Souleater into the ground and launched a powerful kick toward the blade.

“Nngaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!!!”

SHWAAACK!

Her leg went flying off, along with its newly-grown appendage.

She had to prop herself up with her sword as she made her escape. If she stopped, the eyes would be on her in a matter of moments. It would be a little while longer before her leg fully regenerated, but it was still an improvement over having to stick it out with that double limb.

As she’d hoped, Flum’s leg regenerated before the men were able to catch up to her, and she was finally able to get a sizable lead on them. But just as things were starting to look up, she caught sight of six figures—all dressed in the white plate armor of church knights—approaching from up ahead. She figured they were probably drawn by the sudden racket.

“Listen, it’s dangerous back there, so…” She tried her best to warn them but was only met with weapons held at the ready.

As her options dwindled, Flum clicked her tongue in annoyance and cast Scan. Though they differed from Dein’s men, all of the church knights had exactly the same stats.

“A pincer attack?!”

They were really going all out. Whether they intended to murder her or just capture her, Flum couldn’t say. But regardless of their intentions, it was clear they didn’t want her to escape.

She clenched her Souleater tightly and looked between the groups of enemies closing in from both sides.

Adventurers, knights, eyes… There were just too many for her to deal with on her own. Her hands shook and the blade’s tip wavered. All of her allies were missing. Her loneliness only made her imminent demise that much more terrifying. There was no one standing by her side, waiting for her to come home, or even for her to protect, anymore.

“I don’t want to die… I… I don’t want to die!!”

Flum gathered every ounce of will she had left, preparing for one final show of her unbreakable spirit. She raised her sword in the knights’ direction and focused on centering all the energy in her body and transforming it into prana. It flowed up through her arms like a bubbling spring before transferring from her fingers into her sword.

Prana Shaker? She considered it for a moment but began to doubt it would be enough to stop them in a single blow. Launching multiple attacks in rapid succession was another option, but she never trained to do that.

Her palms started to sweat, and the prana faded as she lost control of her breathing. No. No, she couldn’t let despair take over again. She wouldn’t give up. Not until she’d given it her all.

The adventurers were almost on her, and the eyes would be right behind them. Once the knights joined the battle, her chances of winning were all but nil.

“Flum, send all your prana into the ground!”

Right at her darkest hour, she heard the voice of a brave hero echo inside her head.

“Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!” Flum slammed her Souleater straight into the earth. Her prana erupted and began to stir into a massive cyclone.

The wind whipped straight toward the knights. No mortal shield could block the wind; they’d have as much luck wrestling an inferno. Explosive prana found its way through every gap in their armor and tore them asunder.

Prana Storm was an area-of-effect Cavalier Art that bent the wielder’s prana to send waves of cutting force at the enemies in front of you. It required a great deal more prana than Prana Shaker, but Flum was more than capable of that—especially with her back against the wall like this.

A man encased in heavy armor the color of a moonless night landed on the road with a heavy thud, throwing up a cloud of broken flagstones. He drew his massive broadsword and stepped around Flum to face off against the adventurers and eyeballs closing in.

“Hmph.”

A second later, Flum heard the roaring winds of another, far more powerful Prana Storm. It spared nothing in its wake. Not the ground, not the buildings, and certainly not her pursuers. The eyes began to fill the streets once again, though the remaining adventurers were less eager to take up the chase.

“Gadhio!!” Flum’s voice shook.

“Don’t let your guard down yet, Flum. There’re more coming!” His voice was powerful, though it still held a gentle undertone. It brightened Flum’s spirits.

He was right: the battle wasn’t over yet. She was happy to see him, but the reunion would have to wait.

“R-right!” Flum wiped away the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and turned her attention to the knights that just rounded the corner.

Both fighters raised their blades and prepared to strike.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Their swords hit the ground in perfect unison.