Though Dia believed she had finally perfected her potion, she was never given the time to test it out until the moment presented itself. Proud to see that her hard work had paid off, she reacted quickly by shooting an arrow at the Goblin Mage, who was caught in an illusion of her own desires.
The pain of having her arm severed woke her from her false dream, glaring menacingly at the teen as if she wanted revenge by chopping off Dia's head.
"You think this is it?! You think you won?! Never! I refuse to surrender to the likes of you!" the mage screeched, hysterical.
But Dia paid no attention to her rant and began firing arrows when the mage used a shield spell to protect herself. But judging how she was panting heavily with sweat, Dia knew the mage was running low on magic, and at any moment, the shield would shatter.
"Stay away, you foolish, naive child! Walk away now, and you may have a chance to live! Leave this place!"
Dia took the mage's words as a bluff to preserve her life and continued firing arrows as the shield began to crack.
"No! No! This can't be happening! How could a mere child defeat me!?" The Goblin Mage was filled with embarrassment and hatred as more cracks began appearing on the barrier. The Goblin Mage could sense her end drawing near.
Dia poured her magic into her final arrow, which grew three times the size as last time. She had only just learned how to tap into her magic, putting a strain on her body as she hoped this last attack would end the battle.
'Please let this work!' Dia prayed in her head before releasing the arrow and watching it soar across the room. The Goblin Mage watched slowly as the arrow pierced through the shield and impaled her chest.
"This can't be happening…!" the Goblin Mage croaked, coughing up blood as she glared her yellow eyes at the young teen that took her life.
"It's over now, right?" asked Dia. Her transformation came undone, reverting to normal. Such a short battle had worn her down as her fingers wouldn't stop shaking, her heart beating loudly.
"I can sense its life fading," said Lilith, who Dia was now holding in her arms.
Dia was about to let out a sigh of relief when the dying Goblin Mage let out a sinister laugh.
"I'm not done yet." Despite her life fading, she still had the strength to talk.
"You think this is the end for me? If I'm to die, I'm bringing you to hell with me!" A crazy glint shined in her dying eyes as a burning red aura consumed her body. Lilith must have decrypted her ominous foretelling, judging by how her large white eyes trembled with fright.
"She's overloading her magic core with the last bit of magic she has left! She is going to self-detonate! We have to get out here and warn the others!" Lilith yelled in distress.
'Alice! Tai!' Dia worriedly thought about her teammates as she ran out the door and up the flight of stairs.
—
"Alice, you haven't died on me, right?" Tai bent down beside the fallen huntress and shook the other girl's shoulder, watching when her eyes fluttered open.
"I'm not dead yet," groaned Alice as she began to pick herself off the ground. The counter hid them from the Goblin Gladiator's view.
"Good 'cause we got to come up with a plan and take this thing out already. It's getting on my nerves." Tai curled her lips back, showing off her pointy fangs, violet irises glowing deadly.
"True, and I think I have a plan," said Alice as the smoke screen began to clear. The Goblin Gladiator roared, beating its chest like an ape before gripping its metal club, about to issue another earthquake.
But seconds before its weapon could touch the ground, a blur swooped around it, leaving a trail of blood. With her broken sword, she slashed at various spots before slicing her blade across the monster's eyes.
After her feet touched the ground, chest heaving, she caught her breath and yelled, "Now, Tai!" Alice could no longer stand as her feet had turned to jelly.
The Goblin Gladiator thrashed around, destroying everything its fist and club touched while leaving itself wide open. With its eyes blinded, the Goblin Gladiator missed when Tai took off like a bullet. In a flash, she reappeared in the air, holding the broken blade of Alice's sword.
"Chew on this, you overgrown son of a bitch!" Tai channeled electricity into her hands and rammed the blade deep into the Goblin Gladiator's head. The electricity discharged and cooked the goblin from the inside out. The overgrown goblin's charred body fell when Tai's feet touched the ground.
"Well, I think that about wraps things up here!" The platinum blonde dusted off her hands before making her way to Alice. Reaching down, she placed Alice's arm over her shoulder just in time for Dia to reappear in the lobby.
"She's fine. What a relief." Alice was happy to see that Dia only suffered minor scratches and bruises but wondered why the other looked so panicked.
"You're back! Did ya win?" Tai asked this question because she was curious. Even if Dia had failed, she wasn't going to fault the girl for her mistake, aware of the fact that not everyone was suited for battle.
"Yes! But that doesn't matter right now! The building is about to blow! We gotta leave now!" Dia screamed in a rush.
When the two girls heard that an explosion would go off, all three of them raced for the door. Seconds after their feet touched the street and they were about to dive into the bushes, a loud explosion went off behind them as the girls covered their heads or ears from the sound and falling debris.
"I hope this person got good insurance," muttered Tai as they watched the building burn.
"Don't worry, the Hunter Association will take care of all damages," said Alice when a blur jumped from the sky and appeared before them.
"You three misses certainly did a number on your first mission," said the gruff voice of a man dressed in a black uniform with touches of white and silver trimming that was clearly military-inspired and very cool looking.
The man grinning down at them was handsome but in a rugged sense, with short messy midnight blue hair and a scar on the lower side of his jaw.
"Other than a few scratches and bruises, I'm happy to see you beautiful ladies are still alive and breathing." The man flashed them a smile that gave Dia the impression of a shameless flirt before pointing his attention to the building that was erupted in flames.
"Might as well take care of this mess before the clean-up crew gets here," the man muttered, removing the cigarette from his mouth. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword attached to his waist and raised it high in the air. The light of the moon illuminated the azure-colored blade.
"Rain, Poseidon!" Dia watched, astonished, as a rain cloud formed above the building and poured down. Once the rain extinguished the fire, a group of people appeared like ninjas descending from the shadows.
They all dressed in similar uniforms but ones that were dull and less showy than the man's, with hoods covering their heads. They placed cones in the street, sectioning off the building with yellow crime tape. One of the hooded people walked up to the man.
"We got it from here," said the firm voice of a man.
"Well, you heard them, ladies. You can go home for the night, but before you go, can you tell me what took place inside?" The man asked in a friendly manner, but Dia couldn't shake this dangerous feeling she was getting from him.
Alice removed her arm from Tai's shoulder and met the man's inquisitive gaze head-on. She began telling him all that went on inside the building, including the unexpected appearance of a Goblin Gladiator.
"Goblin Gladiator?! One of those hasn't been seen since the Bloody War that took place two hundred years ago?!" said the shocked voice of the hooded figure, who was still present.
"Hmm, is that so… Well, thank you for your report, and I hope you ladies get home safe!" Unlike the hooded figure, the man calmly took in the news before sending them away with a smile.
"Who was that man?" Dia asked Alice when all three were loaded inside Tai's sports car that was heading back to the academy.
"He's a hunter, right?" asked Tai.
"He's not just any old hunter. The silver emblem on his left pocket bore a spade symbol. Only General hunters, ranked at the highest order, bear that symbol," gravely said Alice.
"A General?! That would explain the scary feeling I was getting from the guy. But wait! What was such a man of high rank doing at our mission site?" asked Tai. Alice rested her hand against her cheek, head pressed against the window.
"I don't know, and I'm not getting a good feeling for some reason. Something is brewing, something bad," muttered Alice as the car continued to speed down the road.