Chapter 22 - Sweet Traces Part 22: Are You Questioning Me?

At this moment, there was less than half an hour until nine o'clock in the evening. The coordinates on the radar indicated that, in a straight line, they would arrive in roughly twenty minutes.Luciano maintained a steadfast lead ahead of Filia, his injuries causing pain throughout his body, yet he felt more alert than ever before. The surrounding environment grew increasingly quiet. This tranquility only served as a sign that danger was drawing near."Wait."Suddenly, Luciano came to an abrupt halt, raising a hand to block Filia beside him."What's wrong?""It's too quiet; something feels off."Upon hearing Luciano's words, Filia swiftly retrieved her submachine gun and offered it to him, while brandishing her trusty knife in the other hand."Commander, if there's any danger, just go without me."Filia's tone was marked by a solemn resolve, but her words darkened Luciano's expression.Looking down at her, Luciano clenched his teeth and switched off the safety on the submachine gun. "Are you so fearless? Is there no one in this world you care for?""Who says I'm not afraid? I'm telling you not to worry about me because I'm strong.""Hah! Fair point; after all, you dare take on high-level sorcerers. What could intimidate you?" Luciano scoffed, though his words felt oddly contradictory.To Filia, they sounded like a backhanded compliment."Commander, are you questioning me?""I never said that."But before Luciano could elaborate, his eyes widened as an arrow of green dark energy shot towards them."Watch out!"Luciano shouted, instinctively turning to shield Filia as he rolled to the side. The magical arrow struck the ground, creating a sizeable crater.Immediately afterward, they heard a rustling sound approaching rapidly.Though the warmth of Luciano's embrace was comforting, Filia had no time to relish it. She pushed him away and sprang to her feet."Run!"With a shout, Filia charged toward the oncoming magical beasts."Wait—"Luciano barely had time to grab her before she rushed ahead. In barely two seconds, Filia had plunged into the midst of the beastly assassins.Without her firearm, armed only with a military knife, her battle with the assassins devolved into a brutal melee.Amid the peril, Luciano forced himself to remain calm, using his submachine gun to accurately eliminate several attackers amidst Filia's frantic combat.Many bullets whizzed close to her cheek, grazing her hair; a slight miscalculation could lead to her injury. Fortunately, Luciano was still the record holder for shooting at the Alliance military academy, excelling not just as a pilot but in other skills as well. Yet, once all foes lay defeated, he noticed his hand trembled slightly around the gun.When Filia delivered the final blow to an assassin who hadn't quite succumbed, she turned to gasping for breath and found Luciano's expression dark."Weren't you told to run? Why did you come to help me?"Luciano, hiding the gun behind his back, returned her glare, his displeasure palpable."Is that how you speak to me? Hmm? Captain Athena?""You...""What's wrong? Am I not a proper commander worthy of heeding your orders?""..."Filia was infuriated, but now was not the time for bickering.Gazing into the growing shadows of the nearby forest, infused with green energy, she realized a vast number of enemies were undoubtedly racing toward them.After some thought, she sheathed her knife, knelt on one knee, and pressed her hands into the earth."Spirit of the wind, essence of the soil, elemental envoy, I command you, fight for me."As soon as Filia uttered the final word, Luciano felt a tremor underfoot, followed by a fierce gust of wind sweeping through the forest.In the blink of an eye, a whirlwind of dirt coalesced into a massive elemental creature, which charged forth toward the approaching enemies without hesitation.Witnessing this phenomenon, Luciano could only describe it as astonishing.Is this what she meant by merely skimming the surface?The ability to manipulate elements and summon elemental beings defined a high-level sorcerer. She had even managed to merge two elements—what other secrets lay hidden within her?Though summoning an elemental creature was indeed impressive, it had cost Filia a considerable amount of energy. Coupled with the influence of the malignant energy around them, she found herself struggling to stand.Gritting her teeth, Filia took a deep breath as she prepared to rise, only to feel a firm grip on her arm.Luciano hoisted her upright. "Are you alright?""I'm fine, but we don't have much time. We need to leave now.""Okay."Changing his grip from her arm to her hand, Luciano pulled Filia along as they ran.With each passing moment, the distance to the evacuation point shrank, but just as they emerged from the woods, a deep chasm suddenly obstructed their path."Damn it! How could this happen? Why didn't the map radar indicate a ravine here?"Filia glared at her electronic map, then back at the daunting void before her, frustration boiling within as she felt the urge to curse.With pursuers behind them and an abyss ahead, they had only moments left to evacuate.A wave of despair washed over her as she knelt at the cliff's edge, staring down at the green river exuding sinister energy.Her life didn't matter, but Luciano's couldn't end here; if he died, the entire Stellar Alliance would be in grave danger. Yet the situation seemed insurmountable...She attempted numerous times to activate a teleportation portal—a skill that usually required little effort—but now it eluded her."I can't open a portal; we might die here."Her voice trembled, eyes reddening as she turned to Luciano.In return, Luciano gazed at her, filled with sorrow."I'm sorry, Commander. I took the wrong path. If we had gone the other way, perhaps we would have had a chance..."Having reached such a critical juncture, Filia felt it was time to drop her facade.But just as she gathered her thoughts to confess to Luciano, he began removing his clothes before her."Don't panic; we're not going to die."With that, Luciano tossed aside his outer jacket.