Surrounded by the soft ivory hue of the shattered domain, Jin stared at the cloaked figure atop the crimson pagoda, slowly pulling out his silver handgun while his body tensed.
The wind blew the figure's cloak aside, exposing their feminine curves momentarily and revealing a dark bodysuit with several straps on the chest and hips, possibly a combat uniform.
"Move back, Skouter. She looks dangerous."
"What if she isn't? Can't we try talking?"
Despite his words, Skouter was slowly stepping away.
"Right… Talking. As if that actually works… Hey! Are you friendly? We're just about to leave and don't want any trouble!" Jin shouted at the stoic figure.
"We are the peace! Not problem! Good understand? Does... Does she understand?" Skouter raised his brow worriedly.
The woman narrowed her eyes then jumped off the tall tower.
"Whoa! Is she nuts!?" Skouter crouched down near the edge behind him while watching her.
She fell down several floors, her cloak violently fluttering within the wind's mercy, and just when she was about to hit the ground she suddenly stopped inches from it, generating a small gust of wind that pushed away clouds of dust and dirt - an invisible force easing her landing with grace.
She raised her katana up to her side and strutted to them as coral-colored lightning surged and crackled around her dangerously.
"Her eyes are shining brightly, that means her powers are constantly active… What could her Wish be for her to survive that fall?" Jin gripped his gun with both hands and moved it up to her.
"You two speak of peace but peace is a construct fabricated by weaklings. You talk of it because you fear me. All of you undeserving cowards are the same."
The woman walked to the cusp of her island and flipped the sword around to hold it with a reversed grip.
"No talking our way out of this, Skouter," Jin grimaced.
"Then let's go back. There's a big gap between her and the stone piece we're standing on, so we don't need to fight–"
The woman suddenly dashed beyond the edge, her feet buzzing with electricity while she ran on nothing as if there was an invisible bridge under her.
"Huh!? She's flying!? No, walking on air!" Skouter's eyes bulged in disbelief as he pointed at her.
"She's flying using electricity? No, she's walking on air so it's something to do with gravity or-"
Jin shot his gun, aiming at her abdomen.
With a crackle of rosy lightning, she swiftly dodged to the side and kept moving forward.
Jin kept shooting and she kept evading, but with every swerve she moved further and further down.
'Why is she floating downwards? Ah… Maybe because…'
"Whoa, she's good! Look at her dodge," Skouter chuckled nervously.
"She's not dodging, the bullets are hitting her."
"They are!? Doesn't look like it to me!"
"She's just repelling them, that's probably her Wish. Forget that, why aren't you running away!?"
Jin glanced back at Skouter angrily while pulling out a magazine from his pocket, ejecting the used one from his gun and reloading it swiftly with clear experience. He put the half-spent magazine back in his pants.
But then the woman catapulted through the air, turning to a black and pink blur before landing behind Jin and in front of Skouter.
The woman's vicious eyes burned through Skouter, quickly dancing between his face, his four limbs then his body.
"Skouter!" Jin shot her back repeatedly.
The woman's head quickly snapped towards Jin and she crackled with coral-hued lightning as she lunged at him like a human bullet.
'Fast! The best target for her is my head!'
Jin quickly ducked preemptively, barely able to avoid her slash and losing a few strands of hair in the process.
'Luckily this idiot's using a reverse grip, she gave all her range to attack and now it's hard for her to swing but easy for me to shoot–'
Jin quickly aimed at her abdomen and pulled the trigger, with a loud bang and a bright muzzle flash the bullet suddenly flew backwards, blasting a hole right through the edge of Jin's ear.
Jin winced but shot again and watched the second bullet bounce off her skin as if it was made of titanium. His half-squinting eyes noticed her legs moving back.
'She repelled the bullets when I shot... There's no way she reacted to it, so it must be automated or pre-activated…'
She jumped back to regain some breathing room but Jin matched her without delay, keeping her at a disadvantage by sticking close, his silver gun to his side with the barrel towards her stomach while his other hand slipped inside of his suit jacket.
'But she was falling when I shot her earlier, that means there's a gap in her ability I can exploit!'
The woman clicked her tongue angrily.
"Fight properly, you coward!"
Jin pulled out a second handgun from his other holster – a scarlet beauty with golden engravings – and aimed both guns at her, but then suddenly his entire body flew backwards, blasted by an invisible force that pushed him all the way off the edge.
Jin scowled, baring his teeth, but still shot with both guns at once. The bullets bounced off her cheek and the whizzed by the side of her head.
"Daaammiiiit!" Jin shouted furiously as he fell off.
The woman stared at the edge with an annoyed grimace then turned her head towards Skouter.
Skouter's eyes widened and he gulped while stepping back towards the cusp of the ground.
"W-Wait, one second!"
"Your friend was a coward and died like one. Show me the strength of your character and fight!" the woman shouted and aimed the tip of her sword at him.
"H-Hey, easy now. Isn't it cowardly to attack an unarmed man?"
"..." she lowered her blade and looked at the ground in thought.
"You're right," she looked back up, her eyes no longer fueled by rage.
"I'm glad you can see reason, now I'll just go–"
The woman whipped her arm all the way up, her eyes glowing a malicious pink.
"Ruinous Raijin, hear my call and roar!" the woman shouted as dark clouds materialized above her, flickering with violet and pink energy.
And with an earth-shattering thunderous crack, tendrils of coral lightning carved a luminous path down as they struck the woman's palm, leaving behind them a charged ephemeral trail of electricity.
She lowered her hand which now gripped an enchantingly embellished katana with an ornate craftsmanship; unlike the plain nameless sword in her other hand, this one had a pure ivory blade with a deep magenta edge, an ivory hilt with an amethyst-hued leather wrapped around it.
Skouter's heart raced from the inhuman display.
The woman aimed the enchanted sword towards Skouter, which momentarily buzzed with electricity then exploded forward like a cannonball, cracking the ground between his legs as it embedded itself there.
Skouter flinched and stepped back, almost falling off the island.
"Wh-Whoa! W-Wait!" he fell down on his knees, his legs and lips trembling as fear took over.
"H-Hold on! Just because I have a weapon doesn't mean I can use it, I'm not a fighter!" Skouter's hands remained in the air with the irrational hope of them somehow protecting him.
"Excuses, excuses! Cowards like you make excuses all the time! If you won't fight for what you love then you're a coward, and cowards don't deserve to live, like all of the others!"
The woman's eye suddenly twitched from a small droplet of blood that trickled down the side of her temple. She grimaced and wiped the blood away quickly.
"What's this? His bullet actually hit me?" she stared inquisitively at her blood-covered fingers.
'What is this lunatic on about!? Ahh… I should've ran from the start, I just didn't expect her to be stronger than Jin… I thought she'd be like the thugs Saddy beats up whenever we go scavenging… This is not good… But that blood on her head... She can be injured... But no! I need to run!'
Skouter shook his head and turned around then quickly jumped on a stone forge then other pieces of dirt and wood as he tried to escape.
The woman glanced at Skouter, her expression twisting to a burning glare.
"You too choose a coward's death then!?"
The woman's feet buzzed with electricity and she leaped towards Skouter instantly, easily bridging the gap as she landed on his back, slamming him down against a large lantern.
"Uwagh!" Skouter grunted then looked back fearfully at the woman's hawk-like eyes gazing hatefully at him.
"I despise cowards like you. I killed your friend but you won't fight for revenge? Your heart doesn't hurt? Then what is your love for him worth?! Nothing! And if you have no love to give then you don't deserve to live! Heartless cowards should just perish!"
The woman pressed her sword against Skouter's neck.
"Wait, wait, wait! Can't we talk this out and–"
"Choose them carefully, your last words. I'll carve them on your bones."
Skouter's lips trembled as he stared at this feminine reincarnation of death pressing against him, her eyes peering through the swaying candle of his existence with every intent to extinguish it.
'She's seriously going to kill me… Whether I fight back or not, I'm going to die… That's so unfair… Why me…? Why couldn't I have been immortal like Jin…? Why is he so lucky?!'
With the pressure of death, memories raced through his head, muddled and intangible yet visibly clear.
A world with falling meteors, people running around screaming, the brittle elderly getting trampled on, madmen driving cars on crowded pavements, a gracefully-aged woman's lifeless face.
But among all the hazy chaos, one image stuck out vividly: a happily panting dog with fur as pure as snow.
Bitter tears flowed out of Skouter's eyes.
"Even at the end of the world people just keep hurting each other… If you're going to kill me either way... can you at least tell me why you're doing this?" Skouter looked back at her with glistening eyes.
"Worthless... Must be nice to be so ignorant of your own poison... It's because cowards like you who run instead of fight are the plague. The suffering you cause to those who love you is immeasurable, so letting you live means I'm allowing others to go through that pain."
"And what about you!? Choosing to kill me will hurt people too! You're still hurting others and spreading pain!" Skouter shouted through a pained expression, his hand slowly moving towards his pocket.
"That's your sin, if you really love them then you'll fight to survive. I'm filtering this world from–"
"That's a load of bull! My friend was fighting as hard as he could and you still killed him!"
"Mngh… Enough! You're just spouting nonsense to save your own skin!"
The woman pressed the sword deeper into Skouter's neck.
"Why are you running away, you -hic- coward!?" Skouter sobbed, his eyes leaking like a broken faucet as he bared his fangs.
"...What?"
"I'm fighting you with words! You can't handle it so you're choosing the easy escape by killing me, like a coward!"
The woman gritted her teeth.
"I'm not a coward!"
"Then fight me with your tongue! Tell me why you're so scared of me! Why you want to hurt someone unarmed and on the ground! You're scared of meeting an actual coward, so you're pretending everyone is one! Open your damned eyes!" Skouter squirmed as he shouted, making sure the blade couldn't cut deeper.
"Scared of you!?" the woman pulled her sword away to pull Skouter up by his hood, holding him close to her face.
"I'm not scared of you! I just understand the pain of being degraded and attacked while your loved ones do nothing but watch! Nothing hurts as harshly as that betrayal... So it's my mission to fix humanity by sparing those who deserve to live, to erase betrayal and suffering."
"If you don't want anyone to betray or suffer, then this will help you!" Skouter closed his eyes with a trembling smile then pulled his hand out of his pocket to move a long cylindrical canister in front of her; a pinless flash grenade.
She narrowed her eyes with a confused expression before the flash of a searing light and a deafening bang robbed her of her senses.
She let go of Skouter and covered her face while swinging her sword around.
Skouter gritted his teeth painfully while his hand quivered uncontrollably, covered in burns from the explosion.
"I'll kill you, you coward!" she squinted her eyes painfully, looking for his body.
Skouter quickly swiped his foot under her, tripping her closer to the edge - her upper body falling off the lantern.
But she quickly slammed her hand against an invisible surface to keep herself from falling off.
Skouter stood up and looked at her, his foot inching back to run away.
'No, no... She'd still chase me... I need to guarantee my safety, I need to kick her down... I need to kill her!'
Skouter glared at her, solidifying his intentions, but then his eyes widened when he saw the spectral form of the same white dog standing next to her, wagging its tail with its tongue hanging out playfully.
Skouter couldn't help keep his mouth from gaping and his eyes from widening painfully at the soft creature, but he was quick to close his lips and turn around, shifting his focus towards escaping.
Skouter quickly jumped from the lantern to a nearby wheelbarrow then up at a chunk of land. He quickly pulled himself up the edge then sprinted away instantly, his eyes glowing a deep green.
'Fissure island, I need to make it to a fissure island before she-'
The piercing sound of thunder clapped behind Skouter seconds before the woman landed in front of him.
"Wait, hold on, wai-" Skouter skid to a halt and raised his hands up to dissuade her.
However, she didn't seem keen on listening as she hunched down while slamming the katana in its sheath, generating bursts of erratic lightning around her as her eyes shone with a dangerous glint - ready to strike.
'I shouldn't have listened to him... but if I die because of that then... it's okay...' Skouter lowered his hands as his shoulders relaxed.
The hope of surviving another day made dying terrifying, but when faced with the absolute might of death without any escape, without even a glimmer of that hope... Skouter felt at peace.
Despite his tear-filled eyes, Skouter straightened up and grinned brightly.
The woman gripped her sword harder as coral-colored lightning arced around her, her eyes focused on Skouter's beaming expression.
"You're... not afraid...? Then you're not a coward anymore," the flashy wires of electricity dimmed down as the woman straightened up as well.
"Huh?" Skouter raised his brows in confusion, carefully looking at her to decipher her intentions.
"You injured your hand to fight me, you screamed and shouted, and when faced with death you stood before me fearlessly. I don't think I can call you a coward, so I have no reason to kill-"
The explosive sound of two simultaneous shots echoed through the air as a bullet recoiled off her shoulder with a pink spark while the second round pierced her abdomen.
Her and Skouter's eyes stretched wide in surprise, yet she was the first to quickly turn towards the source.
Jin was standing on a floating vending machine holding both of his handguns towards her, his suit torn and scorched while he was covered in burn mark.
"Die!"
Jin shot both guns simultaneously twice; the first bullet ricocheted off her forehead as she deflected the second using the side of her blade. The third rebounded off her chest with a spark as the last one pierced her stomach.
"You can only repel one thing at a time, but what about all of my bullets at once!?" Jin shouted angrily.
The woman fell to her knee and quickly pointed the sword at Jin.
Yet he didn't give her the chance to do anything and rapidly blasted a twin barrage of burning lead into her body, with only half of the bullets penetrating her.
Her body shook and jerked with every successful bullet that pierced her, but it didn't stop her from propelling her sword with a condensed electric explosion, sending it right through Jin's chest.
"Gah!" Jin fell down to the radiant abyss.
"Jin!" Skouter reached a helpless hand towards Jin but then looked back at the woman who limply fell down on her back.
Skouter gulped and slowly walked up to her, watching her wheezing weakly as her eyes struggled to open. Skouter's gaze slowly drifted to her wounds; she was riddled with a merciless amount of bullets and her fate was clear.
"She's going to die like this... Walter! Walter can you hear me!?" Skouter shouted and quickly sat down next to the woman.
"Master Skouter, is there an issue?"
"Yeah! Jin... uhm... Jin died and I have someone who's incredibly wounded, can you tell Emilia to pull us back?" Skouter gripped the bleeding woman closely.
"Right away, Master Skouter."
***
Back in the bar, Sadie lounged back on the velvet couch with a lollipop in her mouth as she tapped buttons on a video game controller in a masterful manner, the accumulation of a decade's worth of experience.
In front of her beyond the black coffee table was a tv set on a wheeled desk, with every power cable attached to a strange blue crystal that hummed softly.
Emilia was next to her clenching her fists while sitting on the edge of the seat. She would periodically stand up with a panicked look then sit back down with a focused stare, reacting to the character on screen.
"You sure you don't want to play? It's more fun than what you're doing right now," Sadie glanced at Emilia with a wide smirk.
"Oh no, not at all. I'm… terrible at games so it's very frustrating when I play, but watching you is very exciting. You do things I can't even imagine doing," Emilia giggled.
"Nah. Being able to finally beat that frustration after hours and hours of struggling and suffering… There's no better feeling than that."
Walter walked out of a Cerulean door behind the bar's counter then looked at Emilia.
"Miss Emilia, Master Jin has perished again, do you mind returning him home? And Master Skouter also requests transport with an injured person in tow," after speaking those words he moved inside deep umber double doors with golden floral engravings to the left side of the bar, opposite of the couch.
"Huh? O-Okay..." Emilia walked to the middle of the bar and stretched her arms out, her eyes slowly glowing a vibrant lavender.
Sadie put her device down then walked up next to Emilia with a thoughtful expression.
The air in front of Emilia shimmered like a heat-mirage; a transparent veil dancing to her powers which she quickly pulled into a deep tight hug as it manifested into the charred lifeless body of Jin, who was illuminated with a soft golden liquid that poured from his wounded chest.
Emilia's breath quickened as she worked with Sadie to pull his body back to the couch.
"Burnt again, huh? He sure keeps falling off a lot, you'd think he'd learn by now," Sadie chuckled and touched Jin's scorched arm.
Emilia grimaced and quickly turned away to walk back to the center of the room, repeating the same motion.
Walter pushed the double doors open using a wheeled stretcher then looked at Emilia as she hugged the unseen apparition once more.
The form of Skouter flickered into existence with the barely breathing cloaked women in his arms leaking blood all over him. He quickly broke away from Emilia's embrace and rushed to the stretcher, practically throwing the woman on it.
"She doesn't have long to live, Walter!" Skouter shouted while looking at the old man with worry on his face.
Emilia's eyes bulged and her breathing quickened even further when she saw the amount of bullet holes on the woman's body.
Walter nodded with calm elegance and pulled the stretcher back into the room.
Skouter relaxed his shoulders as he watched the double doors close on their own.
"Who was that, Scoots?" Sadie approached him with a grim expression and squeezed his shoulder.
"Uhm... Long story... But Jin probably wouldn't like this..."
***
Walter pushed the stretcher while staring at the woman struggling to breathe, moving her to a room with cyan curtains haphazardly taped to ivory walls, creating a makeshift hospital aesthetic for their treatment room.
"Attempting to save you while you're this far gone would only waste our resources."
Walter walked to a nearby steel desk and pulled it open to reveal several sharp instruments.
"It really is unfortunate, Master Skouter. But you should've known she wouldn't make it in her state," Walter's face darkened when he looked at the woman as he slowly picked up a scalpel.