She tried to get back on her feet, but the demon got her first and flung her towards the window. Her body went through the glass of the window, and she almost fell off, but she was barely able to hold on to the windowpane with one hand.
She dangled from the window helplessly. She didn't know if she could construct anything that could save her. Moreover, the demon was still alive, her planned attack had failed to kill it.
"Tsk. What a pain." She muttered to herself while trying to decide till she finally realized how hopeless it was. She struggled some more as the demon walked slowly towards her with overwhelming murderous intent.
An idea came to her: She could pour all that was left of her mana into one final attack. But if she did that, she might pass out from the fatigue, fall off and die. Another idea came to her, but it was something she promised herself she would never do.
As the demon stepped closer, her mind traveled back to review her life. It is said that just when people are about to die, their brains spark up a memory to motivate them to stay alive; maybe that was why the first thing she was reminded of was her brother.
In certain families, where heavenly pacts had awakened, the children afterwards would continue to awaken their own heavenly pacts; these families were called True-Bloods. Families like Derrick's, and families like hers.
Just like Derrick, she had lost both her parents, but her reason was different. Her reason was because she killed them both. It wasn't deliberate; but she never forgave herself.
She zoned out. The scene before her eyes transformed into that of a moderately sized Victorian house. Seated on the couch in front of her were her parents. They were trying to console her. She had just tried to show off her heavenly pact, but it didn't work.
"It'll be fine honey. Just give it a little bit of time." They said, but she didn't want to hear it.
"Why-y wouldn't it work?" She asked, sulking. Then she rose her voice and yelled "WHY?"
The scene before her turned completely blank. For a moment, all she saw was an opaque whiteness, then suddenly, a chill that was etched in her bone marrow.
When her senses returned, she saw her father lying protectively over her mother and with a long spear that went through his back and through her chest. It took her no more than a second to realize that she was the one who caused it.
She placed her hand over her mouth and screamed at the top of her lung. Her brother, who had been just outside the house, rushed in to meet the shock of his life.
"Julian…I'm begging you..." Her father said to her brother as he spat blood in excess. "Take care of Rosalind."
Hearing this only made her cry the more. She shook violently, unable to retain composure. Her brother's reaction was the opposite.
He was calm in the midst of it all. He pulled the spear out of his parent's bodies, cleaned the blood off then kept it with his ability.
He called his ability Heaven's Gates. It was like a pocket dimension where he could hide and resummon anything from weapons down to food. Unlike Rosalind's wasteful ability, his ability was more conservative.
He buried their parents in the yard, helped Rosalind get over their deaths, trained her on the use of her ability and took up a job to feed them both.
Amidst all he did, he never once complained, neither did he ever blame her for the death of their parents. He took it all in good faith, always smiling, laughing and cheering everyone else on.
When the demons returned, he immediately became a hunter, always wanting to help others. He was everything to her, a brother, best friend and most of all, her hero.
He was powerful as well as skillful; unfortunately, he didn't last long. He died on a mission, sacrificed himself to save his teammates and died in the process.
According to his teammates, his last words were, "Tell Rosalind 'I leave the rest to you."
For some reason, she kept hearing those words in his voice and every time she thought about it, she could always vividly picture him smiling as he referenced her in his final moments.
His strength, his legacy, these were what inspired Rosalind to become a hunter, because she couldn't let her brother's sacrifice be meaningless.
She never liked the idea of teamwork because to her, her brother wouldn't have died if he went on that mission alone. Moreover, she never once deluded herself to thinking she could be as selfless as he was. To her, all she had to do was kill demons.
"Maybe it was to avenge him, maybe it was to fill the obvious void left in my heart by his death." She reflected internally on the reason she became a hunter.
Another memory came to her of when Finch asked her to join the hunters, He was the one who suggested carrying on her brother's legacy to her. After suggesting it, he asked a question that struck her wierdly.
"What is your answer?"
Everything went blank for a moment, then a smile tugged at the end of her lips.
"My job is to hunt demons. Everything else is extra-curricular." She reminded herself as she used up the last bit of her mana to construct a spear then shoot it wildly at the demon.
The fatigue that came from using the last of her energy was unbearable. Subconsciously, she let go of the window and plummeted down to her death.
"It is finished."
Just before her body would pass by the second floor, Derrick jumped out of the window of the second floor, caught her and held her protectively as he landed forcefully but safely on his feet.
She never thought she would have been so glad to see him considering they had just met and she never really fancied others. A couple of feet away from them, huddled up in a corner, were a couple of school kids as well as some of their teachers. Before he went back for Rosalind, Derrick had gone to rescue those stuck in school.
"Sorry I'm late." He spoke.
"No. You were right on time." She said with a warm smile which surprised him. "Thanks for saving me…and them too."
Just before he could respond, a large roar disturbed the nearby surrounding from the fifth floor of the building. The demon, still alive, mounted the window and was jumping down towards them, spreading out its body horizontally as it neared the ground.
"What the..." Rosalind yelled frustratedly.
Before she could complete what, she was saying, Derrick moved to the spot where it would land, pulled out his sword, arched backwards and thrust it at the demon. The demon spun in the air and dodged the sword. However, just as it was landing, Derrick pulled out a second sword then sliced through its neck clean.
"What the...how did you?" Rosalind was shocked. She had been hitting the demon with a barrage of weapons and no effect but all of a sudden, Derrick takes it out in one hit.
"There was something I noticed when you first fired at it." He said.
"Which is?" She asked.
"Your attack blew out its shoulder with a portion of its neck, but it started regenerating from the neck, so I guessed it was more vulnerable from there. Moreover, its regeneration speed was too quick. I figured its skin got weaker the more it regenerated." He said with a cheeky smirk.
"You're not so bad after all." She said, teasing him.
"Is that a compliment?"
"Forget it." she said with a laugh. She stared at him for a moment then blurted out, "You're just like him."
"And who will that be?" He asked in a light mood.
"My brother."
While he smiled at her, internally he yelled "What the hell?"
"That's nice." He managed to say. "Umm…why don't we help these kids get home."
"Sure."