'I'm going to die right here...'
I hid my face behind my arms as I blocked what would be a surely lethal strike, but...
...
...
...
She stopped...
...
...
...
Reika was now standing completely still...
Her sword trembling in her hands...
Tears forming in her eyes...
And a hint of hope within her soul...
She still seemed to be oppressed by whatever, was controlling her, yet... it seemed like she was fighting back!
'Reika... she's there! We can still do this!'
Was my immediate thought as I began chanting:
"[UMBRA BEAM]!"
The moment I finished chanting, a burst of demonic magic shot out of my hand, crashing directly at Reika, at point-blank.
*BOOM*
As my [Umbra Beam] hit her, she was knocked back so strongly, she broke through the wall fo the castle...
And since Myria's room was very high in the castle...
Reika was now falling... from the tallest spire in Litherm's royal castle...
*GASP*
Myria and I gasped as I realized what I had done...
'Please let her be alive...'
Was my sole thought as we immediately rushed to the broken wall to be able to see if she was fine... but she obviously couldn't be...
'While Reika is strong... she won't be able to come out unscathed, out of a fall this high... in fact... Reika could die...'
I prayed to ancient gods to allow Reika to be alive, as we peeked from the Reika-shaped hole in the wall...
...
...
...
My prayers were obviously in vain...
Reika was quite literally, running down the spire of the castle...
...
Myria and I stared stupefied at the unbelievable feat...
"That's Reika for you〜"
Said Myria, as we watched the impossible, become possible by our friend.
"Indeed..."
Reika was running at immense speeds down a completely vertical plane, without losing grip or her footing... it was unprecedented...
However, as Reika began approaching the bottom of the spire, she took a huge leap, and after doing some pirouettes in mid-air she safely landed in the middle of the castle's plaza, right in front of the adventurer's guild... But...
*BOOM*
As she landed, she did so with such strength, she created a strong vibration and a small crater beneath her feet.
We weren't completely sure how she had done that, but we were actually incredibly thankful that Reika, despite being under some sort of mind-control, had landed safely...
...
However, our calm quickly dissipated as several adventurers started exiting the guild to investigate...
'You should've landed with less strength, Reika...'
As soon as the adventurers even noticed her, she started fighting them relentlessly...
In mere seconds, she had wounded at least 3 adventurers while the others were already becoming exhausted by Reika's intense barrage of attacks...
"THERE'S NO TIME TO LOSE!"
I yelled at Myria who was still caught in the trance.
I immediately chanted
"[Aftermath]"
I then took some steps back as I prepared myself. Throughout this Myria kept looking at me with confusion, as she clearly didn't have a clue as to what I was doing...
But when I started running towards the opening in the wall, Myria's face turned to that of shock and fear as she yelled:
"SCARLET WAI-"
And I immediately jumped out of the hole leading to the immense falling.
It was incredibly terrifying, yet it was incredibly FUN!
"WOOOOOOHHHHH"
I, of course, didn't even try to replicate Reika's run at a vertical angle, I was simply free falling without a care in the world!
"SCAAAARLEEEEET"
I heard Myria yell from behind me.
I chuckled a bit about her worries...
"Hah, maybe I should've told her. Hehe"
I had just activated [Aftermath] which allowed me to nullify any and all damage taken for 5 minutes. It was an incredibly useful skill... One which I can only use once before fainting out of exhaustion.
A small smirk appeared on my face as I grew anxious...
"Okay then! IN 5 MINUTES I'LL LIBERATE YOU REIKA!"
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
I had just landed, generating an even bigger shockwave than Reika's and shaking the ground beneath me.
This, of course, caught everybody's attention, including Reika's.
"I might not be as skilled in hand to hand combat... But I'll try anyway!"
I yelled as I rushed in on Reika.
"COME BACK REIKA!"
Reika's P.O.V.
"COME... BACK... REIKA...!"
Once again, those words echoed through the darkness, yet the voice seemed to be different...
'This time... Was it Scarlet?'
I had kept struggling for a while, but the sludge simply wouldn't let me go...
I had given up already...
My body kept floating adrift in the black sludge all around me...
"I'm useless..."
I said as I simply repeated what the voices around had been saying...
"I'm useless... I cannot free myself from this..."
I said once again. I turned my head to the side, allowing me to see the black horizon, as the flowing waves of sludge passed by...
"This is hopeless..."
...
"This is tragic..."
...
"This is... useless... just like me..."
But without noticed I began to feel as the waves and currents of sludge around me... began submerging me...
*swoosh*
I just allowed it to happen...
There was no point in struggling anymore...
I was slowly being pulled deeper and deeper into the darkness...
I felt my consciousness started to fade while I was dragged deeper and deeper into the sludge...
'I never amounted to anything...'
...
'All of my life was suffering...'
...
"I wish I could've been ha-"
"REIKA... COME... BACK... TO... US..."
For the third time, those words resonated within the darkness, yet it was weaker...
I remained unfazed by those words... and continued to be dragged deeper...
"REIKA... PLEASE... STOP..."
...
*clang* *clang* *clang*
This time, following the pleading words, came a metallic echo of swords clashing in the distance...
'Figth...ing?'
But, why was I hearing fighting...?
Why was I hearing these voices telling me to 'come back' to 'snap out of it'?
...
...
...
'WHAT AM I DOING?!'
I had finally realized what all of this around me actually was...
This black sludge... These voices... This pain... All of this... was keeping me hostage in my own mind...
"I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
I yelled as I began kicking and struggling in order to free myself.
'My body is most likely, under the control of that cursed sword again...'
I restlessly struggled and moved as I tried to free my hands and legs from the sludge that trapped me.
"REIKA... COME... BACK..."
Words... Words from my friends... sounded once more as I kept fighting the currents of the sludge...
'I WILL... I WILL... I WILL...'
"I WILL COME BACK!"
Suddenly, I felt the grip of the sludge completely disappear...
...
...
...
But it hadn't been my fighting... Rather than making me happy, the sludge releasing me made me shiver in terror as the entirety of the sludge sea disappeared leaving behind a black orb in front of me...
...
...
...
It was unnatural, yet it also felt familiar... like it was part of me...
But it truly made me shiver when the orb... spoke in my own voice... (AN: Not Reika's male voice, rather Reika's female voice)
"Hello, Reiki."
Kira Amano's P.O.V.
I had been working in the adventurers' guild when a sudden blast from outside blew open our doors. It took everyone by surprise, but it didn't seem like that big a deal. I stayed inside while many adventurers ran outside to investigated what had just transpired.
Without keeping my focus on said event any longer, I decided to resume my guild work... until a scream sent chills down my back...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
"NO PLEASE DON- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO N-!!!"
I knew all of those voices... They were some of the adventurers who just left to investigate. I turned around to face my fellow co-workers who looked as afraid as I was...
I was having a really bad feeling about what was happening outside...
I was trembling as I began to slowly step towards the entrance. When...
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
A second shockwave, bigger than the last made the ground shake...
It was terrifying... dangerous... and treacherous... yet I was left with no choice other than to exit...
...
...
...
What I had before me was a scene that was engraved into my eyes forever...
Several B and C rank adventurers laid on the floor wounded...
A beautiful silver-haired girl with a black battle dress standing in the middle of a crater...
and finally...
Just a few feet away, stood Reika... drenched in blood with 'Boukyaku' in her grasp...
But, while who I had before me was indeed Reika, at the same time she wasn't... Her gaze was bleak, her smile was non-existent and her aura spelled death...
This alarming image, almost instinctively, lead me to a single thought...
'...She has lost control again...'
Then, all of a sudden, the silver-haired girl rushed towards Reika at grand speeds while yelling:
"COME BACK REIKA!"
As soon as she got within range, Reika slashed horizontally so fast, the girl would surely be cut in half... But the silver-haired girl had chanted:
"[Instant Vanishing]"
In the blink of an eye, the silver-haired girl disappeared and reappeared behind Reika and she delivered a powerful high-kick at Reika's head.
*BOOM*
Reika was sent flying towards a nearby house, tearing it down entirely from the sheer speed she collided at.
But knowing Reika, it would take so much more to take her down... and I was correct...
In an instant, Reika had left the cloud of dust that the collapsing house generated and vigorously slapped the silver-haired girl.
*BOOOOM*
I was just staring in awe, as the silver-haired girl was flung into the air from the impact the slap generated.
But without wasting any time, Reika immediately jumped high into the air. Taking the silver-haired girl by surprise, Reika, grabbed the girl's hair as she launched her back to the ground.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM*
A huge crater was left as the girl simply laid with a smirk in the middle of the crater...
'IS SHE CRAZY?! SHE'LL DIE! SHE'S RECEIVING SO MUCH DAMAGE, YET SHE'S SMILING?!'
I was left to watch in horror, as Reika begun her descent directing 'Boukyaku' at the girl's chest. Her descent reached critical velocity almost immediately as 'Boukyaku' became engulfed in blue flames.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't because of the anxiety... I was rooting for Reika, yet I wasn't... She was my friend but she no longer was herself...
As Boukyaku came to a critical distance from the girl's chest she suddenly chanted at the last second:
"[Instant Vanishing]"
Again, she disappeared and reappeared behind Reika, sending an even more powerful scissor kick at Reika's stomach...
*BOOOOOOOOM*
Reika was sent flying straight to the door of the royal castle at insane speeds... She was traveling so fast, her body was actually emitting a whistling sound as she was flung towards the main entrance of the royal castle...
But the castle's entrance wasn't unprotected...
Standing in the trajectory of the incoming Reika, was a beautiful girl, with flowing red hair, bright yellow eyes, and soft skin... She may seem pretty... But who stood at the gate was none other than royal princess Myria...
One of the greatest fighters in the kingdom...
And she clearly wasn't fooling around...
She had her Holy ranked 'Heaven's Bow', ready to fire... But what she was about to fire, wasn't any random magic arrow... (AN: Ranking for weapons and battle gear goes like this, for those who do not remember: Poor, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Mythical, Holy, God.)
This was a spell... A spell that gave Myria her nickname of the [Goddess of Aim]...
"[HEAVEN'S WRATH]!"
She had just chanted her single strongest spell...
At that moment, a blinding ray of light emerged from her bow, heading at ridiculous speeds towards Reika...
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Reika had no way of dodging...
The moment the arrow connected a huge beam of light struck down from the skies with enough force to send me flying...
Luckily, Callum-sama caught me before I could injure himself, but when I turned around to thank him, he had the most worried look I've ever seen on him...
He's always been a person who seems to know everything going on... yet he was scared right now... same as me... same as everyone...
As the cloud of smoke suddenly started clearing I finally was able to see Reika...
She was impaled by a huge lance made out of pure magic...
It was a holy lance sent straight from the heavens which could kill any S rank beast or adventurer in a single blast... yet Reika seemed to be clinging to life...
Princess Myria wordlessly walked up to the silver-haired girl and helped her stand up while nodding...
They both turned to the impaled Reika and stared in pity... They both started dismally walking towards the suffering Reika muttering something which I couldn't catch, yet felt important...
In the end. they finally stopped when they came right in front of Reika...
That was when I realized what they were about to do...
Princess Myria had begun reaching towards 'Boukyaku'...
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T TOUCH IT!!!"
I yelled from the top of my lungs as I ran towards the 2 beautiful girls...
I had been told by Reika all of the effects 'Boukyaku' implied... and if he was telling the truth... if they happened to touch that sword... they would die...
"STOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!!!!"
I yelled with all my might, taking princess Myria by surprise, but successfully prevented her from touching the weapon.
"Step back! This isn't of your business"
Said the silver-haired girl in a sad tone. But I wasn't going to budge on this...
"If you touch that sword you'll die!!! Don't do it!"
Both girls flinched at my words as they rapidly began questioning me.
"Why do you know about her?"
"What do you know about that sword?"
I was a little overwhelmed by their questions... but first things first...
"[Wind Barrage]"
As I chanted a strong gust of wind suddenly appeared, taking both girls by surprise... But luckily...
*CLANG*
But as planned, the gust of wind had been strong enough to overcome the loosened grip of Reika... resulting in the wind, successfully taking the sword from her hands...
Reika's P.O.V.
"Hello, Reiki."
As those words echoed in my own voice, the orb began shifting and morphing into a humanoid shape... I was flabbergasted as I stared at the orb taking the form of a human...
A girl...
Me...
Standing before me, was now an exact replica of what I look like as a girl, yet she wore cold eyes and an ominous aura around her.
"W-who are you!?"
I yelled angered and quite terrified of the impostor... But to my dismay, the copy of me simply smiled as she began walking very slowly towards me...
"Oh, don't you know?"
I shook my head in response, almost immediately. A thing, which she seemed displeased by.
"Hmmm is that so? Too bad... Well, all you need to know for now..."
As she was finishing her sentence she suddenly disappeared from my sights. I looked around in search for her, but she was nowhere to be found.... when the following words echoed through the air...
"...is that we'll be seeing each other, much more... Reiki..."
Those words echoed again and again... Each time they did they became stronger and louder...
Stronger...
Even stronger...
It was horrible, the words were becoming so strong I felt as if my head would explode from the sheer intensity of the sound...
But at some point, the ringing of my ears became so strong, that I passed out...
※
"Rei..."
"...ka..."
"...Rei...ka..."
'Those voices...'
They were calling out to me...
As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a crying Myria and Scarlet which were currently embracing me...
Someone, was also apparently patting my head... when I looked slightly upwards... it was Kira...
Everyone... all of my friends were right here with me in my moment of weakness...
"Welcome back Reika..." The three of them said in unison...
I had no other choice but to start forming tears of joy in my eyes as my heart became warm from their care...
"Yes... I'm glad to be back..."