“…Wew.
That was clean”
Auel pulled a rope from his pocket and tossed it to Rikka “Quick, tie them up”
They worked fast, dragging the bodies into the bushes and binding them tightly Rain began to fall harder They entered the ruins quickly Inside the ruins, darkness swallowed them immediately “Hey it’s too dark” Rikka muttered “I can’t see anything”
“I-I can light it up-”
“No” Auel cut in “Rikka, use your flame instead”
“…?
Why?”
“We cannot let them know our location”
Rikka light up his sword
“Hey, can you turn it down a little bit?”
The flame flared too bright
Auel raised his hand to shield his eyes “Turn it down”
“Hehe… sorry-sorry”
The light dimmed
They started to explore the ruin carefully
Rikka in the front, Auel middle, followed by Erin Slow steps.
Tight corners.
Pauses before every turn
But nothing
No voices.
No movement.
No signs of life
“Hey are you sure this is their base camp?” Rikka whispered “You saw it with your own eyes right; those bandits took the body inside the ruins.
We have to find those-”
Step!
Auel froze and looked down
A faint glow spread beneath his feet.
A magical circle
Light surged
And in the next instant, Auel vanished
“What” they both shocked
Rikka turned sharply
“Auel, where are you”
Erin spun around “W-where did he go?!”
Nothing, no sound, no trace
“Tch… what the hell’s happening”
Then, Rikka’s expression hardened
“Erin, stay close”
“W-what is it?”
“They’re coming”
Footsteps echoed through the dark
Rikka extinguished the flame on his sword
The corridor fell into near-complete darkness The steps stopped Rikka took his stance, focus Suddenly a knife shot out from the shadows Clang!
Rikka deflected it instantly and lunged forward, reigniting his blade mid-step Light burst across the room Two bandits, a dagger and a sword They rushed him “Tch” one of them swung their dagger Too slow, Rikka slipped past the first strike, then a counter attack Slash!
A clean hit across the chest
Then a second one came in immediately
Rikka deflected it with ease and then
Slash!
Another direct hit
He exhaled, and then another knife shot to him from the shadow He deflected it again “Tch!
Come out you bastard”
He rushed forward, A third bandit charged from the side Axe raised But it too slow, Rikka swung his blade Slash!
“Tch, too easy” Rikka walked back toward Erin “Hey, let’s tie them up and find-” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Before he could finish talking, he felt another danger Close… really close Immediately he turned his back and rose his blade in front of him Clang!
He blocked an attack, but no one was there
Then suddenly a figure flickered into view.
Invisibility?
Tch…
A man came out from his invisibility and jumped back The man landed lightly, stepping back with a grin “Heh… you’re good”
“R-Rikka you alright?”
“Yeah… We need to focus” Rikka tightened his grip “This guy is different”
In front of them a man stood up, straight
A tall man, with white skin and long blonde hair He twirled a knife between his fingers, smiling, looking down on them So, he was then one who threw the knife The bandit looked at them, analyzing That guy can use fire and nothing more…But that girl, she hasn’t done anything yet Fireballs erupted toward him He sidestepped easily That’s one Rikka dashed in, blade blazing The bandit blocked it and then slipped back, flicking his wrist, throwing his knife But it passed through Rikka… It was for Erin “Earth wall”
The ground grumbling and rose instantly, intercepting the blade That’s two Rikka pressed forward, launching another attack But the bandit just grinned and his right hand moved, a subtle gesture “Rikka watch out!”
Stab!
Rikka’s body jerked
The knife on the ground suddenly flied toward Rikka and pierced his side What… but how?
Then another gesture, it ripped free, floating, hovering beside the bandit The bandit took a glance at Erin and rushed forward, the knife was following him, floating “Lightning spark”
That’s three
The bandit leapt over it, landing behind Erin He took another knife from his sleeves and strike “Wind gale”
A burst of wind slammed him
A burst of wind slammed into him mid-strike
He couldn’t dodge and pushed back
He steadied himself, eyes narrowing
Tch…That’s quite a surprise, but it’s fine, two more and she is out of mana He moved his hand again creating another gesture, then the knife flied toward Erin with a high speed “Earth wall”
Another wall created and blocked the knife
Heh… One more
“Enhance agility”
He vanished forward, faster, he took another knife from his sleeves Running along the wall, slipping past her defenses Then he threw one of his knives But Rikka was already there and intercepted The bandit landed on the ground and jumped forward With another blade on his hand, he stroked forward Stab!
The blade drove into Rikka’s stomach
Rikka’s body tensed, but he didn’t stop, then Rikka Slashed upward But the bandit had already jumped back “Rikka… Your wounds”
“It’s fine, keep focus”
The bandit rose both of his hand and moved it rapidly, creating gesture The knives rose, even the one embedded in Rikka tore itself free They hovered Then with a high speed the knives attacked from every direction Deflect, step, twist Too fast, too many Cuts formed, shoulder, leg, side Blood spilled But he kept standing.
“Erin stand back”
Then the bandit took another knife and rushed in again He created another gesture, the knives flied back and floating around him Rikka prepared and launched a strike The bandit blocked it and one of the knife stabbed Rikka’s shoulder Rikka didn’t stop he tried to launched another attack but easily blocked Another knife stabbed him on the leg “Fireballs”
The knives intercepted midair, cutting through the flames That’s the last, now you’re done With a high speed the bandit lunged toward Erin “Wind Gale”
The blast slammed him back again, he landed hard, eyes widening slightly What… how come she still has mana He stood up and rushed forward again; this time he created a gesture and the knives floating around him Well, you have a lot of mana right, but how much is it?
Then he launched 2 knives forward
“Earth wall”
Another wall blocked the knives
Then he ran on the wall and looked at the gap between the walls He launched his knife through the gap, but Erin dodge it He dashed and entered through the gap and immediately launched another knife But Rikka stood up and deflected it What?
Tch… But that’s fine, that girls should be out of mana, right?
He dashed forward again and gesturing both of his hands making the knives floating “Erin now”
“Blinding light”
A burst of light exploded, blinding the bandit’s sight “WHAT”
Then Rikka dashed forward, with his sword surged along his blade But the bandit could open his eyes again and blocked it The bandit jumped back creating a gap Tch… Just how much mana does that girl has… He used more than 8 already He created a gesture and the knives floating around him “Fireballs”
Fireballs shot toward him
Heh… another cheap tricks
But Erin didn’t stop, she casted another magic “Wind gale”
The flames surged, fed by the wind, growing, expanding “WHAT”
A big fireball launched towards him and then explode Smoke swallowed everything Then from within, an arc of flame cut through the haze Hit!
The arc hit the bandit directly and the fog slowly thinned, revealing both side The bandit stood, burned Rikka was already moving The bandit rose his knife ready for a close combat Rikka started with a downward slash But easily blocked Rikka didn’t stop, he then spun The bandit retreated Before letting him landed, Rikka slashed the air creating an arc of flames Slash!
Another direct hit to the chest
The bandit staggered
Rikka dashed forward, ready for the final hit The bandit didn’t want to lose either he creating a gesture, the knives launched toward Rikka But the knives moved slower than before and Rikka easily dodge the attack while at the same time he slashed the air creating arc of flames The bandit already out of power took all the attack and finally Rikka launched the final blow Slash!
Body dropped, the bandit finally defeated
Rikka stood still for a moment
Breathing heavy, blood dripping
“Rikka, your wounds, let me heal it”
“Yeah, thank you” Rikka already exhausted, and looked around” Let’s quickly tie them up and then find Auel”
He let out a tired breath as she began healing Warm light wrapped around him.
Before they could finish healing the wound, the ruins trembled, dust fell from above, the ground shook beneath their feet “What the… what is it right now?”