But I was not. My body rolled before my mind could comprehend the intricacies of her attacks. I looked back and found Celeste frozen in fear. I had not the time to yell or scream profanities at her.
I settled for the next best. My body turned, and with pinpoint accuracy, kicked up the dirt and a rock with it. It was a kick that would have been impossible for me.
Luckily this was not me but mere dregs of a perfect being. Perfection incarnate, all tightly wrapped in the veil of precision.
Thus she fell.
Her mouth - hung open in fear and disbelief - closed. Her eyes focused once more and her foot slid to pivot herself.
Celeste had avoided certain death. And only by the grace of my feet. And of the cloud of dust I had knocked into the queen's face. She seemed ever so annoyed at the fact.
The queen's hand waved in the air, like one would a pretend staff, and summoned forth more of those ethereal swords. But I was prepared, muscles taut and ready to dodge at the slightest of movements.
I may not be able to counterattack - not at this distance - but there was something else I could do.
A course of action I would not have even considered mere hours ago. Celeste, she was untrustworthy, a complete unknown with even more hidden motivations.
But Celeste is powerful. The staff she held in her hands blazed with a reddened fury.
I dodged again.
Closed the distance even further.
The queen looked between both of us. She tried to wave her hand once more and maybe… Maybe this time she wouldn't merely aim for me.
"I won't let you!"
My yell had come unbidden. It might have even provoked hostility. But I was far beyond thought. Far beyond rational.
And so my hand flickered, within it the bayonet. The queen widened her eyes and scowled. Her foot tensed with desire to leave the current range.
As I had yelled though. I would not let her.
With a burst of speed - of which I had not the slightest idea of where it had come from - allowed me to close the narrow distance.
And in the seconds I had bought she, Celeste, had aimed and fired that staff of hers. Blazing fury that coalesced into a coiled arrow. It flew true, and I smiled.
But the flame had not flown true. Not in the sense I had expected. Celeste had neither the aim nor perfection I had obtained within the deep reaches of my mind.
Her flame arced… higher and higher until it reached its peak. It fell.
Upon hastened flames it pierced true into her shoulder. A wound to be sure, yet it was all but what I wanted.
For her arm reached out towards mine, bloodied as it was. And if it wasn't for those perfect instincts of mine. Ones that spoke of actions heads and tails before the true action.
I would no longer be a proud owner of an arm.
The queen opened her mouth, as if to speak another spell but it was useless. Her voice came out in short bursts that did nothing but croak out useless profanities.
And within that short intermission came hurdles of ethereal blades. I had no name for them. No thought other than action.
I burst with speed, muscles ablaze with effort and reached closer. Closer. Just a foot… No, a centimeter… please…
Steel glinted under my taut grip. Sweet poured down my face and hurried breaths told of my exhaustion. But neither stopped my action. For the swords - ethereal as they were - came down upon my back like a hammer.
It pushed me towards the ground.
"Too late" Pain was clear within my voice. But so was that tiny… almost ever-reaching smugness.
The queen had no armor. Maybe because she was used to a royal court of knights, or the protection that magic and other esoteric practices would advantage her. But she held no steel, no chainmail to stop or soften the blow.
The queen only held true to a soft blue garment. It flowed down her body as did her intricately weaved hair. But now - that ever blue dress - it was stained red. From the shoulder to the heart. And her breathtaking eyes took one final drag over my form. Humming some unfamiliar lullaby.
///
[You have gained a level]
[Gabriel]
[Lv3]
[Skills: Precision(MAX) | Tailoring(MAX)]
///
My muscles writhed with power. The depth and breadth of my vision expanded. It was subtle, yet not so at all. A certain power that welled up within my chest before once more bubbling down.
I took a deep breath and felt the cold stone touch the back of my head. All as I stared at the rune that had dropped. She, Celeste that is, had left. Logged out saying that she - "Need a breath…" - and I granted her that.
There was no more power within my muscles. Even if they felt like they could lift a whole boulder themselves. As such I too let myself relax. The boss was defeated, a hole in her heart, and I was sat here. Lamenting the company that had once again left me.
"Come…"
Like a voice in the back of my mind, I shot to my feet. Despite the protest of my muscles. My eyes searched for any and every discrepancy that I could find. But there was none.
Only the stony face of a queen in her casket. Dead. I stole a glance at the statuesque view and cautiously approached.
"Come…"
The voice echoed out again but this time it didn't pull any punches. It hurt. It hurt so much. My head did not stop aching. Not now, not within the next few seconds.
But even through the pain I kept myself moving. Until my hand rested on the frozen face of the dead.
"Is this what you want?" I asked.
My voice rang out and all that was left was empty silence. Silence.
I closed my eyes and listened for roaming sounds, anything that could break the oppressive silence whose very presence ruined the sanctity of mine mind.
Try after try. My ears flickering this way and that with tiny movements. Nothing. Merely the slow frost of the corpse as it lost its inherent warmth.
I grit my teeth and moved my hand. Only the corpse didn't allow me to leave so suddenly, it stuck to my hand like some sort of glue. And moments later it disintegrated. The whole cave lit with a brilliant light and I was greeted by the crest.
Everything was the same except for tiny cracks that seemed to echo brighter and brighter light. Until the cracks grew and the crest broke.
And despite the instinctive reaction to block my eyes I didn't. Instead my hands went to that light. Felt the warmth upon my fingers.
///
[Spell: Delayed Varian Blade acquired]