"Dirty mutt! Take this!"
Ever since she had been working in the mine, Kate had met quite a few people.
Some calm, others explosive.
"And this! That'll teach you!"
Scenes a child should never be exposed to—fights, accidents, deaths.
"What did you come back for?! You like my stick that much?! Come on, dirty mutt, it's all yours!"
She had seen plenty of horrible things over the years, to the point she didn't think she could be shocked or scared anymore by anyone other than her parents.
"..."
Yet, as this man relentlessly attacked Battle, holding him with one hand despite the bites and striking him blow after blow, she was paralyzed. She knew people could be rough, even violent. But why such a senseless outpouring of hatred? It was something she only believed possible in monsters.
At first, the idea of coming to Battle's rescue hit her, but her body wouldn't move. She had heard his bones crack under the blows and saw his health bar steadily decrease, powerless to act.
What could she do anyway against an armed adult with her scrawny 14-year-old frame? Sure, she was a miner, but only a sorter—her job was just to sift and transport stones. She had no offensive spells in her arsenal. No one was around to protect her. Her instincts told her to flee as fast as possible, and a miner always follows their instincts, right?
"SaltLord!"
Kate extended her hand, uttering those words. A small ball of light appeared in front of the man's eyes, growing until it covered his face.
"H-Huh?! What… What is this crap?!"
The man was blinded, vainly struggling against the ball of light as though trying to swat away a persistent fly. Taking advantage of the moment, Kate ran to Battle, grabbed the dog, and fled.
"Bloody hell! What is this now?!"
[Lamp of the Depth]
One of the rank 1 spells accessible via the SaltLord key.
It's a light spell that creates a luminous ball near its user. It's a staple for miners, which is why Kate had filled 3 of her 5 spell slots with copies of this spell, granting her 15 daily uses in total.
Working in absolute darkness is extremely dangerous for a miner, so they never use this spell outside the mine, fearing they might run out at a crucial moment. Many had fallen into that trap and paid for it with their lives.
Normally, Kate would never have used this spell in the street like this, especially on another human being's face, as any physical contact with the light ball drastically reduced its maximum usage time. However, perhaps because Battle was in danger or because she had decided to skip work that day, Kate didn't hesitate for a second.
While the man was still rubbing his eyes, assaulted by the spell's brightness, Kate ran, trying to put as much distance between him and herself as possible.
However, she felt increasingly anxious as she advanced. Indeed, surely in her panic, she had run into the nearest alley, the one the man had emerged from. She had no idea if it led anywhere, but if it didn't, she was in serious trouble.
"Ah!"
For the second time that day, she tripped but did her best not to crush Battle in her fall.
"Argh! Damn cobblestones!" she swore as she got up. "And this is supposed to be a capital city with streets like these!"
Given the soft sensation upon contact, it was more likely a garbage bag, but Kate didn't care. If she weren't pressed for time, she probably would've kicked it, garbage bag or cobblestone.
"Ow…"
Suddenly, the cobblestone garbage bag spoke, letting out a faint groan.
"Ow?" Kate wondered. This was the first time she had ever seen or heard a moaning garbage cobblestone.
"Argh, there you are, you bitch! Wait a moment, I'll show you that you're not the only one who knows how to use magic! Boo!"
As she raised her frightened eyes toward the man chasing her, she saw only a bright flash before feeling a shock ripple through her entire body. The shock sent her to the ground once again, but this time her body was too heavy to get up. The faint streetlamp light had vanished, and now she was in complete darkness.
"H-Huh? It smells…"
It smelled like grilled meat. What? Was there grilled meat in the garbage? Where was the lamp? What had he done to her? Why couldn't she move? Her face suddenly hurt. Horribly so. What was happening? Where was Battle? Her face… the pain was unbearable. Her face!
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!!! IT BURNS!!! AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!"
In her panic, her brain finally understood. She had taken his spell right in the face.
"SHUT UP, IDIOT!!!" the man, who had finally caught up to her, kicked her in the stomach.
He then grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off the ground.
"HEAL YOURSELF!!!" he ordered. "HEAL YOURSELF OR I'LL START ON YOUR LEGS NEXT!!!"
"P-PLEASE!!! I… I didn't mean to, I— AHH!!! PLEASE!!!"
The man struck her again before shouting. "SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP OR I SWEAR YOU WON'T LEAVE THIS ALLEY!!!"
The threat silenced Kate, who desperately tried to hold back. Her eyes finally healed as he had demanded, but the process had cost her more than 40 HP, possibly because she was panicking.
That was a problem in itself, but what worried her most were the yellow eyes, glowing with madness, of this man.
"You… You see?! You can behave when you want to! Hey… Hehehe."
He landed another blow to Kate's stomach, making her groan in pain.
"ADMIT IT!!! I KNOW IT'S YOU!!! You… You're with them, AREN'T YOU?!! THOSE BASTARDS WHO POISONED ME WITH THAT DAMN POTION!!!"
Kate initially remained silent, paralyzed with fear, but the man struck her face again in response to her silence.
"ANSWER ME!!! IT'S YOU, ISN'T IT?! THEY SENT YOU TO SPY ON ME!!!"
Tears streaming down her cheeks, Kate resigned herself. "P-P-Please… I'm sorry… I…"
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I ASKED, BITCH!!!"
"EEEEK!!! P-PLEASE, I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!! STOP, PLEASE!!!"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?!!"
As he raised his arm to strike her again, a bark interrupted him. Battle, who had remained motionless until now, snapped out of his stupor and violently attacked the man threatening his mistress.
"ARGH!!! DAMN DOG!!!"
The animal's bite was deep, and it persisted, emitting savage growls as it tore into the man's flesh. As the man's already low health bar turned an unusual shade of red, he dropped Kate to the ground.
"H-HELP!!! HELP ME!!! P-PLEASE!!!"
Almost immediately, Kate ran with all her might, slipping and stumbling over countless heaps of trash piled in the alley. She wasn't thinking anymore, focused only on saving her life at all costs.
She was no longer the one who, hours before, had been planning how to exploit her brother's mistakes.
She was now the animal cursing herself for daring to leave her dark flock for something as stupid as a dog's well-being.
She was the beast who had missed a day of work to follow this dog into one of the city's worst neighborhoods.
She was Kate, the girl whose death would go down in history as one of the stupidest in all of Berattelse.
Finally, she reached the end of the alley… only to find a simple wall, with no escape. Every door she had passed along the way hadn't even pretended to open. She was alone and cornered, a madman pursuing her.
"BOO!!!"
A sudden flash of light followed, accompanied by the whimper of a dog. She didn't need to see the scene to understand what had happened. Slowly, she heard the man approaching, shouting obscenities and cursing with every step.
Her heart felt momentarily empty, so heavy that she thought she was already dead. When she saw the man again, his yellow, lifeless eyes fixed on her, her legs gave out on their own. The sign of her utter defeat stained her clothes as it trickled down her legs, but she no longer registered it.
The man extended his hand toward her, arcs of electricity forming at his fingertips. She knew this spell—it was [Lightning Arrow].
It was one of the most basic offensive spells accessible through the Boo key. Spells from this arsenal were very popular due to their ease of activation and significant destructive power.
She remembered when, as a child, her grandfather explained how this single word had terrorized a generation—the mere mention of the word Boo was enough to trigger violent episodes in veterans of the war against Verhaal's former demon king. It got to the point where Berattelse and Verhaal agreed to ban the use of these lightning spells, despite the ongoing war after the last demon king's death.
Kate had always found it ridiculous. Afraid of a simple word? Ridiculous.
Of course, she tried to be a well-behaved child, but even good children can't resist playing pranks sometimes. She still remembered old Mouque's terrified face when she mischievously whispered that word while pretending to be a witch.
Now, facing this man, she finally understood his reaction. He must have also felt so helpless in the face of his comrades' deaths. In the face of an enemy far stronger than him.
The man pressed his lips together, ready to utter the key. "B—"
"Boo."
The key opened the door, and the dazzling light struck its target. However, the lips that spoke it were not the man's. It wasn't his voice, alternately gruff and shrill like that of a human monster; it was a soft voice imbued with singular fatigue.
At first, Kate didn't understand. The light that erupted was far more intense than that of a lightning arrow, and the projectile didn't just burn the man's back; it pierced through him.
There was no doubt; this spell was [Great Lightning Arrow], another spell from Boo's arsenal.
"Ah… What… Urgh…"
The man collapsed to the ground with an incomprehensible gurgle, revealing the strange figure standing behind him.
"Ba… Battle…" she attempted.
No.
The figure did indeed have Battle's light brown glow, but it was clearly something different, something human. A young girl with long light brown hair, her dark dress fluttering in the icy wind, and her eyes, devoid of color, froze the blood.