Ah... I hate children.
"Waaa!"
That haunting cry from Megose's stomach resounded sharply in the destroyed lobby. The baby cried and wailed, squirming, wanting to come into this world and help its mother escape from her upcoming death.
The black, cold, and smooth threads suffered a shock as an invisible power suppressed them, forcing them into a slow retreat.
"Waaa!"
All the Nighthawks, exception only made for Irina, became dizzy at the same time. Their throats contracted involuntarily as the air became charged, making breathing harder. Crimson liquid flowed from their nostrils, their eyes, and their ears. All of their capillaries having apparently ruptured at the same time.
Megose's headless body turned over and looked at Klein, her charred skin and flesh peeling off and falling to the ground as the holy, yet evil white bone blade glistered threateningly in the light.
Why him?! Ignore that poor guy! Irina tried to stand up again, only to fail once more. Her weakened body hardly listened to what she wanted it to do, only working under pressing situations, fuelled only by adrenaline. Irina's knees felt like jelly, her arms were weighed down by multiple pounds and even keeping her eyes open felt like an arduous task. Was it the fight? The fear of failing once more? Of seeing that damn smile on Dunn's lifeless face? Of Klein's inevitable deat—perhaps it was simply the exhaustion from the past couple of days that had finally caught up to her, as usual, in the worst possible moment. I can't run all the way there in time!
Irina gathered her remaining strength and was about to fully stand when she saw Megose suddenly pause. The monster's gaze turned sharply and stared deeply at the captain. The mage's eyes widened as the words from the novel began, once more, overlapping in a cruel and twisted way with reality. Don't you dare... Dunn Smith's black windbreaker fluttered eerily, his head buried in it, hidden from sight. But what her eyes finally settled on were the multiple thick, twitching objects on his back, reminding her of venomous snakes or tentacles; truly a fitting image for a nightmare.
Dunn was trying to use his sequence's abilities to forcefully impede Megose's movements; and Irina knew very well what would follow soon after. A failure.
Bam! Bam! Bam! With a mere struggle from Megose, the thick tentacle-like objects that protruded from the Captain's back exploded all at the same time. A large amount of blood splattered out, covering every corner of the room like rain and painting it a deep crimson.
Irina looked around searching for help as well as trying to assess the current situation. After all, she couldn't forget about the three new variables at play: her, Frye, and Royale. Klein was the furthest from them all, being on the other side of the room and currently unable to move due to the baby's wails. Leonard was behind her and his condition was even worse than the seer's. Royale and Frye weren't fearing much better, but it was their position that Irina didn't like. They were far too close to the monster. Far too risky. The only reason Megose still hadn't targeted them was due to their weak attacks, not inflicting much, if any damage at all.
She turned her head just in time to watch the blood being absorbed by the black threads created by Saint Selena's ashes. No, no, no! Irina straightened her back, cleared her mind, and focused on the composition of her spells. Two different, faintly glowing rings appeared in her hands. Don't you fucking dare Dunn Smith!
The countless cold, smooth, tentacle-like threads entered a frenzy. They swarmed forward and bound Megose tightly, wrapping themselves around her bulging, squirming stomach.
The mage tried her best to calm her nerves, focusing on the most intricate and complex spells she created that very same day. Don't make mistakes. She breathed in deeply. Just focus on the order, function, change... The rings grew bigger and more intricate, making Megose's entire body snap in her direction, immediately sensing grave danger.
"Waaa! Waaa! Waaa!" The cries of a baby could be heard once again, more frequent, and more incessant this time around. I truly, most sincerely despise babies.
The countless black threads suddenly came to a pause, retreating and trembling again as if they had all been struck by lightning.
Dunn's expression changed, realizing that Megose was about to free herself. Irina's gaze sharpened, her attention being equally divided between her Captain and the incoming threat. "Don't you fucking DARE!" Her enraged tone made him hesitate. "I have this thing under control!"
Dunn's right hand faltered, the claw-like shape he had made froze shortly mid-air. Irina stood wobbly on her feet, her hands spread wide in prayer, reaching for the sky. The sun's rays beamed on her figure, making her glow unnaturally. Her green broch reflected on the walls in a myriad of colors. She blinked tiredly up above, her mind now solely focused on the most energy-consuming spell she had created. One big, translucent ring appeared on the ground in front of her while another one covered the hole in the ceiling.
Megose leaped at the mage with lightning speed, reaching her in a matter of seconds. Her bone blade was mere centimeters away from Irina's neck when her lips grimly curled upwards. "Praise the Sun!"
The two circles activated simultaneously, lighting up and engulfing the room in pure warm light. A beam of light descended from the bright sky above, not much different from the earlier one. Irina's eyes closed naturally, but not before creating another blue circle in front of her, protecting her from the burning hot attack.
Megose's body lost its body limb by limb, first charring before crumbling away instantly. The half-illusory, terrifying creature within her body, no longer having the support of a physical body, couldn't complete the last stage of its transformation. It turned into a furious ball of black gas, dissolving amidst the light and flames.
Rumble!
The entire building shook violently as the force of the attack hit. A couple of seconds later, not feeling any more latent danger, Irina slowly opened her eyes. She held her breath, observing the scene around her. Please...
Many walls had crumbled. Before her, just where Megose had once stood, mere centimeters away, was a somewhat circular hole. The edge of the ground had melted, some spots still glowing a deep reed. Irina's attack might have been powerful, burning just as hot, but it wasn't as precise as the Sun Charm Klein carried and used.
The mage glanced around fearfully. Klein, still the furthest from them all, looked at the scene with clear surprise. So did Royale and Frye, not far from the center of the room. What immediately caught Irina's eye, were their charred clothes and red, irritated, and exposed skin. Ahh... sorry guys. I... tried my best. Their complexion might have not looked the best, but they were still alive, and that's what Irina cared about.
She gulped down, her eyes finally landing on the one person she had focused on for the entire fight. Dunn Smith.
He was standing on the same spot, still wearing his black windbreaker, now heavily wrinkled. Irina didn't bother looking at his expression, perhaps in fear; instead, her eyes fell, and she gazed at his chest, right over his heart.
She released her breath with pure euphoria. Nothing, his jacket was mostly intact, perhaps dirtied, with specks of blood and dust, but there wasn't a single hole in his chest. I... did it?
Irina's legs gave out beneath her, her exhaustion fully kicking in; her depleted spirituality, the missing sleep of the past weeks, all the work she had done in the past months hitting her in full force.
I did it...
I finally did it.
She stared at the shaking hands in front of her. They were hers, bloodied, dirty, and covered in various burns and cuts of all sizes. Fuck, it's done. Her clothes might have just been charred, but her fingers throbbed painfully, right where the metal had slightly melted and fused with her skin.
Her body swayed, her vision beginning to cloud over. She couldn't believe it was finally done, all the work she had put in had actually paid off. Dunn was alive but... She didn't know what had happened with Kenley, no one had bothered to inform her after all. The same went for Old Neil, he was in a comatose state who knows where.
Irina's hand closed with frustration, making the skin stretch and tear close to her rings. Her shoulders began to shake lightly. What if... She couldn't help but wonder. What if I had reached this sequence earlier? Her expression shifted, her state worsening with each second that went by. Her thoughts ran back to her first days, the first month she awoke in this mysterious world, when she enjoyed the company of her coworkers, leisurely spending time with them. Always thinking she had more than enough time to advance, not actively working for it. Why didn't I do more? Why did I waste so much precious time like that?!
Her heart beat faster. The destroyed room seemed to close in on her as her vision blurred. I could have saved them! Her hands shot to her already messy hair, grasping and tearing at it. The taste of iron was strong in her throat as she was reminded of Old Neil's slumped-over body, so lifeless. Kenley's glazed-over look, his body falling down with no one there to save him. If only I was a higher sequence I could have—
A strong hit on her back made her slowly come back and feel what was happening to her body. Irina's head throbbed while an unfamiliar hand was firmly grabbing her wrist, gently pulling hers away from her already reddened and abused scalp. "—ey hey. Irina— Now that's better."
The mage was slowly turned. Ver vision cleared just enough to make out what she knew was Leonard's form. Ah, she berated herself mentally. What a terrible person I am. She realized her mistake, adding it to her never-ending list. I even forgot to check up on him—
"Not again!" The poet's voice was loud, almost screeching in her brain. Irina wished he could speak quieter and finally grant her some peace after the whole incident. "Come back here, what are you so sad about? We defeated Megose!" Leonard's face quickly turned to his side, looking in Dunn's direction and asking, "Right Captain?"
She didn't dare raise her gaze, staring at the ground instead. Irina couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes, dreading what, even she didn't know. Perhaps she feared seeing suspicion in them, or disappointment, maybe anger, or even...
Irina shook her head firmly, trying to clear her mind. She couldn't be so negative after all, she also had to focus, Megose might be dead, but soon—
"Indeed," began Dunn. Irina didn't dare interpret his tone, but when the following words left his mouth, she couldn't help but tear up. "We saved Tingen."
She hiccupped loudly, covering her mouth with one hand. Why... why does he sound almost... happy?
"But," the snap of a box closing entered her ears and she faintly realized the black threads had fully disappeared. The faint sound of footsteps reached her, almost imperceptible. Is Dunn coming closer? "Irina, just what did—"
No wait—they're not from his direction but from—
Tears flooded her eyes but her head still snapped upward, just as a loud tearing sound resounded in destroyed reception. Liquid dropped to the ground and she sickeningly realized she could hear every single drop hit the destroyed and charred floor.
Irina's vision closed in on Klein's form, her ears picking up all and any small sounds.
The heavy pants that left his lips as unbelievable pain hit him. The drops of blood hitting the ground. The shift of fabric as his hand rose lightly to grasp at whatever was making him uncomfortable. The drops of blood hitting the ground. The beating of his hearth being unnaturally loud. The drops of blood hitting the ground.
Klein's pupils constricted, his body frozen in place. An arm sticking out of his chest, a slightly pale palm, drenched in blood, coming out its left side.
Irina's breath caught as her mind added in the missing scene, Ince's hand brutally plunging into the seer's chest without any mercy.
She saw the life begin to fade from Klein's eyes as he crumpled, falling with clear shock in his expression. His gaze drifted over to the two Nighthawks, still on the ground, then to Dunn, who was struggling to react, and lastly to her, as though wondering why she hadn't been there to save him. His eyes seemed to ask her why, just why, when he knew she had tried so hard to save others but not him.
Irina watched as he drew one last, shallow breath and went still.
Blood flowed out of his motionless chest. That loud heartbeat had quickly faded into nothing, no longer reaching her ears.
It was too much.
Her heart twisted with grief and guilt as she witnessed Klein's soul-crushing final look, his silent plea that would haunt her forever. She had known this would happen, and yet... the reality was simply shattering. Her friend was gone but—
Ince straightened, sneering with a chilling detachment. He took a slow, deliberate step towards them. "Megose didn't manage to kill you all, " he mused aloud, as if it were all an unfortunate inconvenience. "No matter, I'll still retrieve what I came here for." He cast a dismissive glance at the two low-sequence, heavily wounded Nighthawks, who had managed to prop themselves up but faltered, their body too exhausted to obey them. Dunn, on the other side of the room, began to move.
Irina's mind spiraled, everything unfolded in slow motion yet felt suffocatingly rapid. A whirlwind of different emotions swept through her, sorrow, helplessness, anger, and a searing disgust for Ince's actions. The way he had stripped away Klein's life, as if he were nothing, sickened her to the core. He was the embodiment of evil, the very monster she had spent so much effort trying to avert. The hatred that flared in her soul was raw and blinding.
Dunn had tried to move but a blue ring, as sturdy as a shield, had appeared before him, cutting off any possibility of directly attacking the new enemy.
Irina forced herself up, her knee's weakness slowly becoming foreign to her body. Her hair fell over her face, obscuring her expression as she rose.
Her energy had shifted, making Ince pause. His attention locked onto her as he ridiculed her, "Ah, so the little Bookworm wants to resist. Charming," he sneered. "I'll kill the Nightmare, those two useless low sequences over there, and that one behind you as well. Everyone in this room, why not."
Irina laughed bitterly, her voice unsteady but dripping with disdain. "Oh, really?" Her words were laced with veiled fury. Her eyes burned with hate, but her lips curled with pity, as though she saw a wretched, condemned creature rather than a threat.
He'll die by my own hands, she felt it in her bones, even if her power wasn't yet enough. This arrogant, piece of shit. Irina's gaze shortly landed on the sealed artifact in his hand. I'll shove that quill up your—
Without a word, she gripped her closed fan in her right hand and raised it at her side. Her eyes grew distant, dimmed by a consuming wrath as she felt herself slipping almost into madness. She let go of it, and it fell with a soft thud to the ground as her fingers trembled with a fierce energy. At that instant, a glowing ring materialized under her open hand.
She stepped forward, the atmosphere shifting around her, a strange, unnatural wind whipping her hair and clothes as if she alone were caught in its force. The black fan floated upwards, being engulfed in a warm, white light.
More circles flickered into existence, a big one above her head, others above and below her hand, spinning at different speeds. Her voice dropped to a dangerously low tone as she leveled her gaze at Ince. "You want blood? You want destruction?"
Irina's voice was barely steady now as an ominous smile spread over her face. "I'll give you blood and destruction."