The muted clang of metal echoed among the trees. Mia, with a graceful leap, jumped into the air and drew back her bowstring, her fingers trailing a vibrant green glow. The wind around her began to condense to the point that it bent the light passing through it, creating the peculiar outline of an invisible arrow.
In that moment, Mia's aim and speed were seemingly perfect, as she released three arrows in less than four seconds while still airborne. Terik, spotting the incoming distortions, swiftly dodged backward. The first arrow slamming into the ground, where he was just standing, kicked up a storm of dirt and debris as it cracked the earth.
Terik then countered the remaining wind arrows with the flat sides of his blade, the force nudging him back slightly but at the cost of dispersing the arrows entirely. Following this, his form began to darken, as if the shadows of the forest were melding with his skin.
"Grounded Arts: Forward-Paced Gyre!"
With one powerful step, Terik took a stance as his entire figure bulked. Mia, her eyes widening in realization, quickly moved to dodge to the side. At the same time, Terik leaped forward while spinning like a top. His form became a blur, a terrifying mix of speed and the eerie glow from his spinning blades.
His path through the forest left a trail of destruction, slicing effortlessly through earth and nearby trees alike. Mia, by a hair's breadth, avoided his onslaught, somehow skidding across the ground as if it were ice to realign her aim.
But Terik was relentless.
As soon as his whirlwind-like attack ceased, he rushed at her, his sword poised to strike. In a split-second decision, Mia used her bow to block, the impact violently forcing her to one knee and causing her to wince slightly.
"That bow of yours sure is something else, huh? It's still holding together even after taking my hits and firing those weird little arrows of yours." As Mia held him off, she gritted out her next few words.
"For a man who claims to have been part of our military, you sure talk a lot mid-fight..."
"Well, there's a reason I was removed from duty. You see, superiors, and I never did see eye to eye!" As he said that, Terik aimed his other blade at Mia's head and tried to stab her. But Mia, as if she'd seen it coming, let herself drop to the ground and roll back before booting Terik off her with a swift kick.
The kick sent Terik flying back, but as he landed on the ground, he had a grin on his face.
"Not too shabby. You know, I heard most spirit naturalists suck at hand-to-hand, but you're clearly an exception. It must be tough for you, though, to constantly hear those spirits yammer away, spilling secrets about the world around you in gibberish you can barely understand. I've heard some spirit naturalists even end up killing themselves early on because of how bad it is! Tell me, did you ever consider something like that!?"
To Terik's obvious goading, Mia responded with silence as she charged at him. Her speed was otherworldly, her feet barely brushing the earth, gliding across it as if untouched by friction, her strides illuminated by flashes of green light.
She's faster than before!
Terik quickly squared up, his expression changing as he got ready for whatever she was planning to shoot at him. But the arrow he was expecting never came, and instead she caught him off guard with her speed, dipping down impossibly low and delivering a fierce kick to his right calf.
The kick felt like a cannonball, with all her momentum turning into brute force. Terik heard a soft crack, his face going white. The bone didn't break since he had braced himself, but it was definitely damaged.
"Ragh!" His scream pierced through the air as he aimed a desperate slash down at her. But Mia, with her uncanny agility, barely grazed the ground before catapulting herself out of his reach. Seeing that, Terik shifted his grip on the sword in his right hand and hurled it towards Mia.
With a slight tilt of her head, Mia just barely dodged it, the blade grazing her cheek. Yet, this left her momentarily off-balance, and seizing the opportunity, Terik propelled himself toward her with his uninjured leg, rapidly closing the gap between them.
Mia scrambled to ready her bow, but Terik was faster. Snatching her neck with his free hand, he slammed her to the ground, his grasp so firm that Mia felt her breath being squeezed out of her and her windpipe being crushed.
Her strangled gasp filled the air as her eyes widened in panic, and her unique mobility was canceled as her connection with the spirits was cut off by the sudden lack of focus.
"Gotcha! You know I was thinking of keeping you alive, but fuck that!" Terik bellowed, raising his remaining sword for a final strike at Mia's head. But in a frantic response, Mia landed a fierce kick to his already injured leg, channeling all her strength into the blow. A jolt of agony coursed through Terik, feeling his already damaged bone shift even more, his cry of pain providing Mia with a split-second chance.
In one swift maneuver, she entangled him with her legs and punched his nose with her bow's riser. The two strikes back to back caused Terik to loosen his grip on her neck for just an instant, and it was at that moment that she managed to quickly flip him over and pin him down before he could react.
"Shit!" was all Terik could manage before Mia regained her focus and aimed her bow straight at his head.
The arrow formed in an instant, and as she fired it, it punctured straight into Terik's skull with raw force, causing a horrific explosion of blood and brain matter.
Seeing Terik lifeless on the ground, Mia exhaled deeply, standing amidst the silence that followed the violence. She found herself instinctively rubbing her neck, the lingering tightness making each breath a conscious effort. Her eyes slowly drifted to the sky, where gray clouds were beginning to form—a silent prelude that it was going to rain soon.
That was too close for comfort; I underestimated him. I baited him away because he claimed to have ties to the Batis military, but who would have thought he was a knight capable of using aura? At this point, the internal issues are getting just as bad as the turmoil at our borders. Citizens won't even be able to travel between villages without being attacked if nothing is done soon…
Shaking off the spiral of grim thoughts, Mia stowed her bow and redirected her focus to the task at hand. Making her way back to the road where they were initially stopped, she was greeted not by the freshness of the air but by a stench so vile it seemed to claw at her senses.
Still, she seemed entirely unfazed, as if she were used to it.
Amidst the wreckage of their cart were the corpses of the fallen bandits, and nearby, Marcos and Gerald could be seen waiting for her return.
"I take it this mess is Gerald's handiwork?" Mia remarked, stepping past the bodies. Marcos's silent nod was all the confirmation she needed, drawing a scowl from Gerald.
"Hey, it's not my fault. I tried to take a few of the bastards alive, but they were hell-bent on a fight to the death."
"Of course, of course. Marcos, what's the body count?" Mia asked, ignoring whatever Gerald was saying.
"It was difficult to figure out thanks to the mess Gerald made, but I counted eighteen. That means we're short two from the original twenty," Marcos reported, his voice carrying a mix of frustration and resignation.
"Did the last two run for it after seeing their side was losing? If so, it would be a waste of time to try and chase them down. Our priority should be their base; it's likely not far. With any luck, they have horses we can use," Mia said, with both Gerald and Marcos nodding in agreement.
As the two of them got ready to move, Mia suddenly remembered somebody and turned around.
"Oh, right. Magnus, are you..." Mia's voice trailed off as she scanned their surroundings, expecting to find Magnus nearby. Gerald and Marcos, upon hearing Magnus's name, turned their gazes to where they had last seen him, but there was nothing there.
"Last I caught sight of him, he was hiding out over there. Probably bolted out of fear. Not everyone's cut out for this—seeing the dead, I mean. I can't fault the kid for that," Gerald said as they approached the spot where Magnus was last seen.
As they got close, Marcos looked down at the ground and voiced his observation.
"It doesn't look like he bolted in fear; it looks more like he was being chased. We must have missed it during the chaos." He pointed at the disturbed earth and parted the underbrush to reveal three distinct sets of footprints.
"Dammit, those two bandits!" Mia swiftly got out her bow, poised to pursue the trail, but Marcos's hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Mia, let's not chase shadows. It's going to rain soon, and we need to follow the original tracks of the bandits' to find their hideout. Plus, there's something off about Magnus. His amnesia act? It doesn't sit right. How he speaks, his demeanor—it's all too convenient. If the bandits take care of him, it might just solve a problem for us."
"Sheesh Marcos, that's harsh. Even for you. Plus, you know Mia's not one to leave anyone behind, especially not on a hunch," Gerald interjected, causing Marcos's skeptical gaze to shift from him to Mia, who remained steadfast.
After a moment of silence, Marcos sighed.
"I'll never understand why you took that stupid oath of yours, but alright. You two head off after him. I'll track the bandit's tracks to their camp and leave you markers that'll stand in the rain. Just... be careful."
"Thanks, Marcos." Mia patted his shoulder before nodding to Gerald, and together they set off, tracing the footprints left by Magnus and his pursuers, while Marcos watched them disappear into the distance.
Let's just hope my suspicions are wrong, and I'm just being paranoid...
=====================================•=====================================
Mia and Gerald followed the footprints etched into the dirt, their eyes peeled for any hints of a struggle or worse.
As they darted through the forest, the sky morphed into deeper shades of gray, threatening a downpour. They felt the first hints of rain kiss their skin, a ticking reminder that they needed to find Magnus before the water washed away the only clues left on the forest floor.
At the same time, though, slowing down to look more carefully wasn't an option, or they would lose too much time.
The sound of thunder rumbled, a deep roar that echoed through the air as flashes of lightning tore through the darkening sky. Mia clenched her jaw as the rain began its descent, trickling through the leaves, pattering against the soil, and threatening to remove their only lead.
"Shit!" Gerald spat out. The tracks were already difficult to discern; now, veiled by the dim light and rain, spotting them was near impossible.
"Keep your eyes open; they must be—" Mia's voice hitched as she glanced to her right, noticing the forest giving way to a gently sloping clearing. The change was obvious, even in this dismal weather, thanks to the shift in ambient light.
Mia shouted, "Gerald!"
"Yeah, I got it. Let's move." Gerald, spotting it just as Mia did, swerved with her towards the clearing in unison.
The forest thinned as they neared, the trees giving way to a clearing they'd seen from a distance, revealing itself to be a hill. Its slopes were lush with grass, but what caught their eye was the massive boulder crowning the hilltop.
"We'll be able to get a better view from up there," Mia said. They burst into the clearing, their pace quickening towards the hill, only to slow as a disturbing sight unfolded. Washing down the hill, mingling with the rain, was a stream tinged with an unsettling red tint—blood.
With a swift motion, Gerald readied his greatsword, his stance ready for what lay ahead. Mia, just like him, prepared her bow, her fingers poised at the string. But as they ascended, their weapons gradually lowered, not out of ease but out of shock, their eyes widening at the sight that greeted them.
"What the hell is this?" Gerald's voice was laced with disbelief. There, propped against the boulder at the top of the hill, was Magnus, who was unconscious. His body bore the marks of a frantic dash through the woods—scrapes, bruises, and probably a few falls.
More alarming, though, was a deep slash across his chest.
The wound was pretty bad and bleeding heavily, but not deep enough to reveal any bone. He would live as long as they treated him right away. But the sight that truly stunned Mia and Gerald wasn't Magnus's injuries. It was the scene laid out in front of him: the bodies of the bandits who had been chasing him.
Their swords were clutched in their hands, and the blades were broken near the hilt.
The blood that had painted the hill's descent red now made sense. One of the bandits had been bisected, cleanly cut through bone and all, while the other lay decapitated—a pair of strikes both precise and savagely executed.
The severed head and upper torso had landed a disturbing distance from their respective bodies. As Gerald and Mia absorbed the grisly sight, their gaze inevitably swung back to Magnus.
The echoes of Marcos's warning rang loudly in their ears, the reality of his words feeling more evident than before.