Sadine felt a little helpless.
As they were separated due to carriage assignment, she began to look for her sister right when the incident ensued.
At the time of the event, she was in Carriage No.3, while her sister was all the way at the back in No. 23, making it an extremely arduous trip as she had to face countless adversaries of the same level 2.
The runes inscribed onto her were enough to let her go through all of them with minimal injuries, fortunately enough, but even that couldn't save her from the hit she sustained earlier.
It appeared some of the damage had been dealt with beforehand, assumingly by the blonde guy, which she felt a bit grateful for. Nevertheless, with all kinds of muscle strains and tangled flows still present, she was to stay in one place and slowly heal herself before even attempting to move.
Crawling was also an option - a desperate one to reach Aaliyah, but that'd only be viable if she was near her sister in the first place.
The conclusion she came to was to gather some info before considering the option itself.
"Um...Mr. Blond?"
"Rodrick von Julian. You can call me Jillian, miss. How may I help you?"
"Right, mine's Sadine...I want to ask a few questions. Is that fine?"
"As long as it's within my knowledge, yes. May I do the same as well?"
"...Sure."
Despite hiding behind the rubble, Jillian acted as if he were a personal servant tending to her directly. A strange feeling, she figured.
He also seemed to be curious about how she got here but didn't let it show too much. It was another info she could easily bring to the table if need be, which was great.
"What's the car number?"
"Do you mean the one we're in?"
Sadine nodded. Since there was a distance from where she leaned to both doorways, it wasn't possible for her to learn the number of the carriage without moving.
After all, with the state of the car's interior, the only intact source of numbers was probably the signs in the pathways leading from one car to another. This is especially true with the one she's in, as she couldn't spot anything at all.
"It's No. 17, I believe."
"I see...Maybe I should do it then."
What happened next shocked the blond Rodrick. Enduring the extreme pain permeating throughout her body, Sadine fell to her front and started crawling with all her might.
Her sister Aaliyah, who only managed to inherit the characteristics of a wolf beastman, was without a shadow of a doubt, weak.
Her main strength lies in her intellect, unlike Sadine who possessed the inherent strength from her bloodline. Because of that, she was in lots of potential danger, and that would only grow worse the more time passed.
"Uh, um, I-I don't think you should move..."
Jillian exclaimed nervously, his eyes filled with worries. Being aware of Sadine's body condition, he knew that moving around was no good.
"It's fine. There's somewhere I need to be."
"Even though you're in such a state?"
"Yes."
As she crawled through piles of rubble, she spotted another boy sleeping soundly. Compared to the prim and proper Jillian, he looked like a random homeless kid she would find at the back alley of her settlement, one they'd call "wild animals".
"Is that..."
"Ah, this is my friend Jack. He's exhausted, you see..."
"Is that so? You guys must have had a hard time breaking through."
"You can tell?"
"Mhm. That reminds me..."
That last fight she had ended abruptly thanks to a stupidly overwhelming interruption. Whatever thing it was, it sent her through enough doors to make her back feel numb.
Turning her head back, Sadine looked at the small pathway with no doors.
Something didn't smell right.
"You guys better move too. A monster is coming."
"Yes?"
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Loud thuds reverberated through the air as the carriage shook fiercely.
Sensing danger, Sadine rolled over to the other side where cover was available. Although it was unstable, chairs uprooted and stacked onto each other into a small castle made a good hiding spot. With that in mind, Sadine ignored the dustiness as she tried her best to suppress her Ether.
Like a jet taking off, something zoomed through the path she just crawled on, leaving deafening bumps in its wake. Barely holding on, she felt lucky to not get hit again by such a force. Nonetheless, she came to another realization.
'Wait, isn't that where...Shit!'
"Oho, to think we still have some leftovers."
"!"
SCHWING!
In a moment of pure instinct, she cocked her head to the right, barely dodging a blade's edge.
'Not good.'
Mustering her Ether, Sadine prepared a spell while watching the blade, which then smoothly cut upward, splitting the small hideout into two.
"[Vapor]!"
As she mumbled, mist speedily spread from the palm of her hand, covering her surroundings in an instant. Although the control spell was a tier 1, it was the best thing at her disposal currently.
"Kekekeke!"
SCHWING!
"Kuk!"
Rolling to the side, she managed to evade another strike. Albeit the agonizing pain, she continued to muster all her strength and dodge one slash after another, each had her muscles screaming louder and louder.
As more time passed, she even managed to stand up, but neither time nor luck was on her side.
HUFF! HUFF!
'This is truly...no good, isn't it? If only...I hadn't been hit.'
She was truly running only on fumes, so it was only a matter of time before her body gave out. Even at this moment, her limbs were shaking unstoppably.
Worse, she could neither read her enemy's patterns nor properly enter combat due to her exhaustive state. There was something about that insidious energy she couldn't quite wrap her finger around.
"Hm? It stopped?"
Even if it was only a small window of rest, it was still an opportunity for her to do something.
'If it comes to this then...'
It wasn't only a matter of rescuing somebody anymore, but her own survival. She, who even now was confident in winning the contest of strength against whatever slashing at her, considered her last resort as she reached into her pocket.
'No...not yet.'
She decided to make a run toward her sister. By any account, if she could reach her sister before the thing, there was a chance of defeating that ridiculously powerful thing. After all, Aaliyah has always been one to figure out how to deal with such odds, not her.
As long as they are together, they are....
"!"
Suddenly, her body froze. Even though she was used to immense pressure, her body stopping in place was a sign of something even more frightening.
"Such impressive willpower. So many delicious meals, yet I'm so tight on time. I...guess I'll leave them to you then."
'Ugh.'
"Just don't overdo it, 'kay?"
Chills ran through her body as the voice echoed in her ears. Even though it didn't say anything noteworthy, there was something within the voice that seemed to violate every inch of skin on her body.
Disgusting. Revolting. Sickening. There wasn't an exact word to describe it.
Doubts began to fill her mind.
Was this truly a battle she could win as long as she could reunite with her sister?
Was she really strong when one hit was enough to render her almost useless?
Was she delusional to believe in all the praises she was given over the years? Even if it was directly from her prideful trash of a father?
"Kukuku. Let it sink in. Do not reject the truth. ACCEPT IT."
SLIT!
Right when she was distracted, a streak of silver came through, slashing her in the front. Blood gushed down from her wounds, forming a puddle.
"Wh-"
"Kekeke."
Backed into a corner, a sharp pain woke her from her trance.
'Damn it.'
KOFF!
She was truly helpless. Now that she had been gravely wounded, hope was bleak.
Could she even survive now, lest save her sister? Was it possible without using that?
'...so, at all cost,...protect your sister, OK?'
In her hand was a ruby necklace.
It was the last keepsake of her and her mother, whom she deeply loved. However, more than that, it was an item that she swore to only use in the presence of both her and Aaliyah.
'You must not use it, Sadine. She's going to hate you if you did.'
'Use it, Sadine! Do their promises truly matter? Is there really a point if you're gonna end up all alone again?'
SCHWIN-----CLANG!
The blade went down on her like a lightning bolt, only to be stopped by her bleeding hand.
Red pieces of shining stones fell from her hand, dissolving into dust.
"Shut up."
She gripped her hand, shattering the blade into pieces. A huge surge of energy flowed throughout her, clearing her mind.
Right then, the vapor completely dissipated. In front of her, an ugly tall imp stood with a bladeless hilt in its hand, shocked.
BAM!
A crispy punch sunk into its face as it spitted blood.
"What an ugly face." She grumbled.