Then, when she closed her eyes, she realized what it was.
She sensed the shape of a small dagger that was coated with a heavy layer of magical particles which Garnel seemed to be gripping.
And so, it didn't take a genius to guess what he did.
Probably from the brief chance she gave him when she distanced herself from him, he got the dagger from his pouch and quickly casted an invisibility spell without her notice. So, when she charged towards him, he pretended to block the attack but in actuality, his other hand already had the dagger pointed towards her, stabbing her in the process.
"God fucking dammit."
Opening her eyes, she gritted her teeth in both from pain and frustration. She thought she'd be okay given that she'd trained for months on both proper combat and magic. And along with the addition of her body's really high skill in combat and the fact that she had her 'other' state, she felt confident that Garnel would never be able to touch her.
But to think that she'd be stabbed that easily.
Well, she wouldn't have been damned stabbed if it wasn't for the blasting headache she's having.
It made her senses and mind shift their focus from the ongoing fight towards the pain instead.
And now, as Inna clutched her stomach to try and stop the bleeding, her mind and senses shifted themselves towards a new kind of pain.
She cursed again and again under her breath as she felt the sharp pain every time she breathed.
That motherfucker with his dirty little tricks...
Freeling her frustration skyrocketing, she glared at Garnel with intense hatred in her eyes.
Yet despite being faced with such an expression, Garnel simply chuckled as he harshly withdrew the dagger.
"Hey, all's fair in a duel as long as the opponent is down."
Still unrelenting to withdraw her intense glare, Inna held in a scream as her legs gave out from the pain and shock.
She wasn't able to hear Raghnall's screams of panic behind her as she tried to support her weakening body with only one hand. With her hands slowly weakening from the lack of blood, she tried to hold back her own panic as she felt the pressure she placed on her wound starting to lighten. Then, with her hand now powerless to stop it, the blood starting to slowly flow down her stomach, showing a ghastly red trail on her clothes.
As she stared helplessly at the blood spreading to the roses on her robes, Inna's whole body started to lose its heat. Her face became as pale as paper and her vision started to get blurry.
Then, she vaguely felt Raghnall's arms around her and she wanted to press herself against him for warmth. But for some reason, her body wouldn't move.
"Why are you still alive?"
Suddenly, she heard a crazed grating voice of a woman inside her head that kept speaking to her. The tone used as she spoke was one filled with hatred as though Inna was the sole reason why she was suffering.
"You--! If only you weren't born!!"
Blinking her eyes rapidly, visions of a poorly lit stone chamber suddenly flashed before Inna's eyes. And the voice started to get louder.
"WHY?! WHY?! YOU RUINED IT ALL! JUST WHY?! WHY ARE YOU--"
Inna suddenly felt like she had the wind suddenly knocked out of her as she gasped loudly. Then, in an instant, her whole body became as cold as ice as that familiar feeling of her thoughts draining into nothingness took over her.
With a blank face and a newfound strength, she pushed herself off of Raghnall as she stood up and walked towards Garnel, all the while staring intently at him with no emotion in her eyes.
The sudden blankness of Inna's face as she slowly came near him somehow creeped Garnel out so much that he began to feel goosebumps forming.
"You...want…kill me?"
The quiet whisper of an unknown voice suddenly came out of Inna making everyone who was near enough to hear it shocked and confused.
Garnel heard it as well but rather than surprise taking over him, somehow the innocence he found in her tone and voice made him feel wary instead.
And before he could even blink, Inna suddenly appeared in front of him.
The whole room was filled with gasps as they saw the feat. Raghnall also looked at her with the same amount of surprise as he tried to figure out what was happening with her. He wanted to heal her with a healing spell so he started casting it as he placed pressure on her wound earlier. But before he could even finish casting the spell, he felt the wound under his hand suddenly close up by itself. It startled him greatly that he froze and he wasn't able to stop her from going near Garnel.
Now, seeing her sudden swift run wherein she almost looked like she teleported, Raghnall knew that something was different…
Different and terribly wrong…
But just as he was about to go near Inna to investigate, he saw her tilting her head to one side.
Then, it all happened in a blink of an eye.
Inna's pupils started to dilate and her hand shot out to roughly grab Garnel. Then, she proceeded to lift his whole body up by his neck easily with not so much as a sway or tremble in her movement.
Seeing the abrupt action, screams of shock and panic erupted around them.
"Wha--!"
Garnel was unable to let out any more words as he felt the sudden presence of a great pressure tightening his airways.
"You… should not…"
Her eerie whispers continued as Inna just kept staring straight through Garnel's eyes that watered from the lack of air. Then, she loosened her grip on his neck lightly as her mouth slowly spoke in a hushed tone.
"I protect…"
Then, reaching into her own spatial pouch with her other hand, she reached for a dagger. And she raised it in front of Garnel.
"Balance… maintain.."
In one swift movement, she swung the dagger across Garnel's neck, slightly staining the hand that was strangling him with a red hue.
Then, she dropped Garnel's limp body on the floor as she stared at her own hands. This time, instead of a blank expression, she somehow had a hint of confusion that showed as she saw her trembling hands.
"Mas--?"
Her words were cut off as a loud noise suddenly erupted.
"Monster! She's a monster! A murderer!"