Strings. Innumerous and sturdy strings weaved itself into a makeshift net, cushioning his own rebounded blow.
That did not mean that he did not take any damage at all, however.
Though it was faint to the point of nearly dissipating, Lieren could still smell the familiar metallic scent in the air.
Blood.
The man was bleeding. Though his eyes and still stable-looking form suggested otherwise. Lieren knew for certain that he did take fatal damage.
Most likely from the rebounded blow itself, with most — if not all — of the damage from hitting the wall having been nullified by the solarsteel strings. It would seem that on top of being hard to break, the reflective strings also had some kind of enhanced shock-absorbing power to it.
Lieren's face blanched even more, as if all blood had been drained from it.
This was bad.
Then, the man looked—no, glared at him with hateful eyes, as if trying to burn the naïve boy with his gaze.
As redundant as it was, Lieren could feel chilly goosebumps throughout his body for the briefest of moments. His body stood on attention and his mind sharpened itself like steel.
He was inexperienced, dumb, and totally unskilled. Everything that could be a disadvantage was his to have.
And in spite of it all, Bian had still not arrived.
…Until now.
As if in response to Lieren's silent, morbid throes, a silver rapier flashed in the maze-like alleyways of the forsaken city, accompanied by the sudden, immediate form of a beautifully lithe woman with lustrous silver hair and a pair of luminous black eyes.
It was as if the Sky Beyond had been trapped in them.
'Why did she ever think that she can be stealthy with such defining features?'
And yet, the naïve boy knew, despite all his inexperience, that she still held the clandestine capabilities of a Rogue, while keeping such fantastic features.
Flicking his wrist, the diametric Mistcaster summoned even more reflective strings.
A truly exuberant quantity of solarsteel thread sprouted from the man's heart as if it was being ripped apart and stripped bare, transforming into the reflective strings that shone despite the gigantic buildings at both sides towering above them all, reminding not just them: but all of the residents at this forsaken city what their fate is, and who holds the power to grasp it.
'What a morbid and depreciatory thought.'
It was exactly the kind of ideology that embodied the forsaken city the best.
As though they held a mind of their own, the solarsteel thread weaved itself into… not a wall, but a shield-like pattern with thicker weaves at the outer edges. The symbol of a blood-red fey was weaved with remarkable precision in the middle, almost like a crest of sorts.
For some reason, the very sight of the blood-red crest made something click in Lieren's mind, as if a piece had just fallen into focus.
As Bian's silver rapier flashed, the diametric Mistcaster quickly weaved his shield, finishing casting his spell with astonishing efficiency. There was the lightest tinge of blood in the air, as if somebody was leaking it purposely.
This time, the impact was not muffled.
Tightening her grip on her silver rapier, Bian thrust with all her strength, straining her muscles and wringing out as much strength possible… what was left of it, anyways.
The diametric Mistcaster's face widened in horror as he watched his greatest defensive technique do nothing against the silver point of Bian's rapier.
It was as akin to a needle passing through cloth. Things were just meant to be this way.
Suddenly, Bian's eyes grew wide open as the hand holding her silver rapier froze, as though possessed.
Her voice held a tinge of shock and dread mixed together into horror as she muttered under her ragged breath:
"…What?"
A creeping sensation crawled up Lieren's back. It was as though a whole group of spiders passed by him, their horrid legs grazing his skin.
'What was that?'
Shaken to his very core, he took a closer, more dire look at the diametric Mistcaster.
What he saw shocked him.
'Strings. Again… strings.'
They were almost invisible. Despite most of the light being obscured by the towering buildings on each side, they seem to reflect the very essence of light from them, shining bright and powerful… practically radiating.
Wrapping themselves around Bian's silver rapier, the innumerous strings drew taut, trapping her. Just like a spider would.
Bian's hair stood on end as she tightened her grip on her silver rapier, squeezing every ounce of her strength to pull the damn thing out.
Lieren's brows furrowed in worry.
'It is stuck. She can't pull it out.'
With the narrow alleyway reducing his mobility considerably, the young boy did not have a clear line of shot. And even if he did, it came with the dire risk of hitting his allies.
…Well, maybe not Harita. The two had a strange but comfortable synergy together.
Taking a quick note of her mistake, Bian dismissed her silver rapier and leaped back, not taking her eyes off the Miistcaster for even the fraction of a second.
Lieren lowered his center of gravity, ready to let loose his spell at any moment.
With Bian's quick retreat, the Shield Weave fell apart, as if it was not the dense and highly effective wall that it was.
The naive boy immediately recognized this as the lie that it was, his keen eyes glistening with the shimmer of insight.
…A shimmer that Bian caught at the very corner of her periphery.
As the solarsteel strings fell, two bloodshot, scornful eyes fell upon the two of them, raising their awareness to the point of oversensitivity.
Bian regarded Lieren, glancing over and saying:
"On my command, you fire. Got it?"
Lieren blinked, calmed his nerves down, and nodded. There was the light of understanding in his eyes.
"Good."
Turning back, Bian's eyes narrowed into slits.
The diametric Miscaster riased her silver rapier to the skies, wrapping around it tightly and aiming its sharp point to its wielder.
How very cruel.
'How terribly fitting.'
Paying cold, attentive regard to the woman's every move, Lieren opened his eyes wide.
This was not about focus or concentration anymore, it was about the in-betweens. He could tell from the heavy mood that, if he missed this, there would be hell to pay. Twice.
With a flash, the two turbulent forces moved.
Flicking his wrist, a silver rapier shot through the air with amazing speed. Even faster than if the wielder been using it.
Of course, that was when she wasn't using her full magical capacity.
Dashing forward with an explosive step that cracked the very stone beneath her feet, Bian set forth with the light of resoluteness coldly glinting in her luminous black eyes.
Uncountable threads of solarsteel reached for her, intersecting and joining at some points to create a cage, but just a single chop of her enhanced hand was enough to cut them apart. Her hand bled as a result, crimson liquid dripping down her arm.
…Until the silver rapier was all but upon her.
"Now!"
Releasing all of the built up power in one explosive blast, Lieren let loose his spell. For the fraction of a second, Bian and the Mistcaster's face visibly blanched as a cold realization fell upon them like a thunderstorm.
"Invisible Abjuration: Maxima."
An arrow, distorted and obscured from the confines of human vision, flew through the air with the speed of a rushing Wyvern, passing through the smallest gaps in the cruel entrapment of solarsteel threads that Bian had made for herself.
It was finer, denser, thinner, and most powerful version of the boy's only spell could exert using all of his wild mana in exchange for absolute power.
Bian raised her palm to the rapier and yelled:
"Return, Weeping Maiden."
In a sea of silver motes of light, Weeping Maiden disappeared, almost as if it had been a dream.
…While the Mistcaster urgently tried to reform another defensive wall.
'So that's what it was.'
With a sharp noise of the fabric of space being distorted, the man's eyes opened in terror.
An invisible arrow pierced his heart… then exploded with an unnatural noise. As though something not of this world had just been made possible.
The man reached his hand out, shaking.
There was fear, not for himself, but for what laid ahead for somebody else as he muttered through bated breath:
"I… no, please… I… still… haven't… her… proud…"
With a merciless outward force, the man's chest exploded in a splatter of red.