They strode through the grand mansion's grand hallway, the lights aglow to banish the night's shadows. "What say you of this abode, Tobias?" Ephi queried, cradling the younger in her arms. Tobias, still in awe of the sky scene they had just beheld, replied truthfully, "I find it quite cozy, Ephi. Serene and peaceful. The sky here is a wonder, every bit as mesmerizing as the outside world." Ephi raised a brow, "Is the sky not just a void with small glitters?"
A gust of cool wind flowed into the chamber. Tobias, who once habitually opened her bedchamber's window to invite the night air in before slumber, leaned her jaw on the sill. She gazed upon the night sky, ablaze with constellations and radiant stars. The two-story abode in the heart of the meadow appeared to be a swarthy void, bereft of any flicker of light. Yet, it was the silvery beams of the moon that bathed the grounds in a gentle radiance, banishing the darkest shadows from the land.
"I wish I could see it, the sky of the outside world you speak of," Ephi said, stopping in her steps. "Will you venture into the outside world with me, Tobias? Can you guide me when we are in a place I don't know about?" Tobias was taken aback, she had never traveled beyond her home and the thought of exploring the outside world with a companion was both exciting and intimidating.
"Actually, this is also my first time in the outside world. Because previously I lived in a secluded place, I didn't know anything," Tobias admitted.
Ephi pressed on, "Then, what is your reason for going to the outside world, Tobias?" Tobias smiled, her determination shining through, "I'm a person who doesn't really know much. Therefore, I want to know, want to learn to be a more useful person. I want to see how big the world is. Seeing and getting to know a lot of things, isn't that fun?"
Ephi was silent for a moment, considering Tobias' words, before finally speaking, "Indeed, there is much to be gained from exploring the unknown. I believe we shall make quite the duo, you and I."
Tobias spoke with a melancholic voice, "Although not many, I also try to write a book so that many people can read them. It's just, that I feel sad, Ephi. Living in a secluded place knowing nothing, isn't that pathetic? That's why I don't want to be like that and decide to go to the outside world."
As Tobias spoke, Ephi felt a sense of recognition stirring within her. She too had felt trapped and confined, longing for the freedom that only the outside world could provide. And now, she had found someone who understood her feelings all too well. "Then we're the same, Tobias," she whispered, her voice ringing with excitement. Let's explore this world together."
Amidst the darkened alleyway, lit only by the gentle patter of raindrops, Tobias marveled at Ephi's abilities. "I'm surprised you can speak through the wind, Ephi," she exclaimed. Tobias had once longed to draw closer, but the gales that whipped through the alley deterred her. Suddenly, Ephi's voice was carried to Tobias' ear on the winds, advising her to bide her time.
"Well, I still have another trick," Ephi chuckled. "With that, she might be unconscious." Despite her brawn, Ephi had come to realize that Inietta's mastery of the martial arts surpassed her own. Thus, she resolved to harness the power of the winds to turn the tide of battle.
As Inietta's form stirred, Ephi lifted her hand and summoned forth a powerful gust. The wind swept down the alleyway, sweeping Inietta away like a leaf caught in a tempest. The winds did not subside, but rather grew stronger, constricting Inietta's movements and serving as a barrier to keep her at bay. "It is the dead of night, so I trust the commotion shall go unnoticed," Ephi whispered to herself, mindful of the slumbering denizens that surrounded them.
E'en a gentle rain, fanned by a gale's force, can rend through many a sheet of parchment. With a flick of her wrist, Ephi summoned forth a maelstrom of wind, and Inietta was cast back, slamming into the wall behind her. Yet she arose, defiant in the face of the tempest, her stance firm, her hands raised to shield her eyes from the rain's patter. Though her frame may have seemed frail, her strength was as unyielding as the stone walls.
"With this ferocity of the winds, I would have surely shattered my bones were I not to employ my mana technique," Inietta thought to herself, concealing her true abilities. Through her mastery of the mana, she could imbue her form with immense fortitude, channeling her mana to reinforce her skin, bones, and sinews. Thus she stood, unyielding in the face of the tempest.
With a flick of her wrist, Inietta loosed a slender strand from her fingertips. It shot forth, piercing the gales and ensnaring Ephi's right hand. Ephi was pulled towards the tempest, yet ere she was carried away, she imparted her wand to Tobias.
Ephi suppressed the winds that surged around her legs and back, focusing the gusts to deliver a mighty blow. With Inietta's gaze shielded from the rain's onslaught, her vision surely dulled, and her focus fixed solely on the direction from which she drew Ephi.
Inietta was caught off guard as the strand that bound Ephi suddenly slackened. Peering ahead, she saw no sign of her foe, until a crushing blow landed upon her belly. Ephi had utilized the walls around them, springing from their embrace to launch a surprise attack from the left. E'en the wall before them remained untouched, its silence preserving the hush of the night.
The ensnaring strand snapped and vanished, shattering into the air. Carried by the gales and the force of Ephi's punch, Inietta was sent hurtling down the alley, tumbling end over end before finally colliding with the wall of a nearby dwelling. Despite Ephi's care to avoid causing harm to the structures around them, it seemed that the impact could not be entirely avoided.
The room above glowed with light, rousing the residents from slumber. Fearing an earthquake, they scurried about in confusion, until venturing outside to find a stranger lying amidst the rubble of their house's wall. Amidst the gentle patter of raindrops, they hastened to ensure their safety.
Ephi dissipated the tempest that had raged through the alley, for its maintenance would drain her energies. In its place, she conjured a gentle breeze that meandered down the passage until it reached the prone form of Inietta. The distance between them was vast, stretching far beyond the alley, crossing many thoroughfares.
Blood flowed from Inietta's lips as she coughed, struggling to breathe through the crimson deluge. Her vision was hazy, her surroundings a blur. The patter of raindrops mixed with the ringing in her ears created a disorienting symphony.
Cold raindrops pelted her skin, jolting her from her daze. As she clung to consciousness, Inietta muttered to herself, "Magic without incantation? I don't expect father would involve outsiders like this."
With unsteady legs, Inietta rose to her feet, her eyes trained upon her cloak. She gingerly probed her stomach, and with a flick of her wrist, threads wove themselves from her fingertips, forming a protective barrier around her belly.
Ephi fixed her gaze upon Inietta as she approached. Her masterful command of the winds had allowed her to maintain a faint current as a sensor, so she was not caught off guard. Determined not to yield before Tobias' eyes, she summoned forth the remnants of her waning wind power, forming shimmering bolts of air to unleash from her fingertips. With a fierce focus, she monitored Inietta's movements, envisioning the path of each bullet as it sought its mark.
Shiuw.
The first shot echoed through the air. Inietta felt a shiver run down her spine, a warning of something amiss. She didn't know what it was, but she never imagined it would be a nearly invisible blast of wind, as dense as a bullet. With no time to dodge, it tore a hole through her cloak. But that fateful night, fortune smiled upon her, for Ephi's aim was not true, seeking instead the vital point under her side where her stomach was fortified by layer upon layer of mana threads. The wind bullet was unable to penetrate, disintegrating into mere gusts of wind and leaving only a mere bruise in its wake.
Inietta unsheathed her twin blades, their gleam are like a flash of silver in the dark. Ephi was taken aback as she realized that Inietta had reacquired the knives in their last scuffle. She unleashed a barrage of wind-forged bullets, but Inietta's knives effortlessly sliced through each one. As Inietta closed in, Ephi, determined to not let the battle slip from her grasp, nocked a deadly arrow, imbued with a poisonous viscous liquid, and let it soar towards her opponent. The arrow sliced through the air with swift ferocity.
In the first barrage, Inietta struggled to fend off the hail of wind bullets with her blades. Their unpredictable form proved too much for her to intercept effectively, and droplets of toxic poison grazed her skin. She cast aside her knives and summoned ethereal threads from her fingers. With a fluid and precise movement, she shattered the incoming arrows and created a shimmering shield around her. But her reprieve was short-lived, as a massive object suddenly collided with her barrier, sending her flying. "Come forth, coward, and face me like a true warrior!" Ephi bellowed, wielding wooden crates as her latest weapon.
"Ephi ..." Tobias' heart was heavy as she witnessed Ephi's struggles against Inietta alone. The thrill of landing a solitary strike was now replaced with a feeling of helplessness.
Inietta found herself hurled to a crossroads. She sought refuge behind a wall, her eyes fixed upon a discovery. As she raised her hand to inspect, a crate came crashing into the very spot she had gestured towards. Inietta realized then that the wind current had not fully dissipated, and that Ephi might still be able to sense her location through it. "Ah, I see," Inietta mused, piecing together the mystery.
Ephi ceased her barrage of wooden crates, her brow furrowed in confusion. Had Inietta fled the battlefield, vanished into the mists of the night? The wind currents offered no answer, and the alley was eerily still. The huntress's keen senses detected no trace of her quarry. Ephi stood in wary silence, searching for any signs of movement. Yet, as the moments stretched on, Inietta remained shrouded in mystery, as if she had been consumed by the very shadows.
Silence descended upon the alleyway as Ephi waited, still as a statue, for any sign of Inietta's next move. The calm before the storm, Ephi was ready to pounce at a moment's notice, like a predator waiting to strike its prey.
The rhythmic pounding of rushing feet echoed through the stillness.
"Wait a moment! Why am I even waiting for her?!" Ephi muttered to herself as she realized the absurdity of her actions. The silent alley was filled with her tumultuous thoughts. With a wave of her hand, she molded the swirling gusts into a compact, spherical shield, sacrificing breadth for a more focused coverage area.
"Ephi!!" Tobias cried out as she rushed forward, her hand stretched out in front of her. Her eyes were wide with fear and there were frozen tears clinging to her cheeks, or perhaps they were raindrops. Time seemed to come to a standstill as she gazed upon Ephi. Ephi was suddenly aware of Inietta's presence, but at the same time, Tobias's anguished shout filled the air. Ephi's heart ached with the desire to see Tobias, to warn her to stay away from the danger that surrounded them. But despite all of her efforts, she was powerless to keep Tobias from rushing towards her.
Ten shimmering threads, lay draped across Inietta's fingers, weaving them together creating a net woven with deadly intent. The threads spun out, extending beyond the distance between her hands, forming a web of destruction that would claim the life of her intended target. With a fluid leap, she descended upon Ephi, her eyes gleaming with a fierce, unquenchable hunger for blood.
Ephi was caught unawares, her senses only registering the danger as Inietta descended upon her with deadly speed. The assassin's sharpened threads gleamed in the moonlight, poised to strike and snuff out the life of her intended victim. But before Inietta's deadly threads could rend her asunder, Tobias sprang forward.
Even though there was a bit of fear, with a fierce determination, Tobias pushed Ephi out of harm's way and took her place in the line of fire. The threads of Inietta's net glinted in the moonlight, their deadly embrace threatening to end Tobias's life in a heartbeat.
"Why did you not heed my warning, Tobias!" Ephi cried out, her voice filled with despair. "I told you to stay away!"
Inietta, with a heart of night, descended upon Ephi with merciless speed, her fingers still entwined with the threads of death. The attack was swift and brutal, leaving Ephi dazed and vulnerable.
The fate of Tobias was unknown, her torn shirt and shattered bag were the only evidence of her presence. The ground was littered with black coins, and a bracelet still clung to her severed wrist.
A storm raged within Ephi's mind, as she struggled with the conflicting emotions that warred within her. Tobias was her only friend, her only companion in a world that was often incarcerating. But now, as she gazed upon her shattered and torn body, scattered in the distance, anger, and despair boiled within her.
"To hell with the consequences," she whispered, her voice filled with anger. "I will end her, I will kill her, no matter the cost."
For so long, Ephi had held back her power, afraid to unleash its full potential. She knew that using her abilities to their fullest extent would leave her drained and vulnerable, needing someone to restore her energy. But in this moment of desperation, she made the decision to use every ounce of her strength, without reservation. She would stop at nothing to avenge Tobias, even if it meant sacrificing herself.