A/N: So… It's been a while huh? As an apology for being gone for so long… I made this chapter extra longer

Heh

Recommend Music to Listen to while reading:

The Last Funeral by Eternal Eclipse

Shape of Lies by Eternal Eclipse

Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell

AFoS - Chapter 9
Burned out in the Flame

Garnet's greatsword glinted in the sun as he deftly dodged a fierce attack from his two opponents, one of them is man wielding two curved swords and another man who has what seems to be a spear

As Garnet sidestepped the attack, he swung his greatsword in a wide arc, aiming to strike his opponent's exposed flank. But the man was quick to react, using one of his swords to deflect Garnet's attack and counter with a quick jab

Garnet leaped back, barely avoiding the blade, and quickly scanned his surroundings for any potential threats. He saw Arianell standing a few paces behind him, her sniper rifle trained on their two opponents

Garnet charged forward, greatsword raised high, and launched a series of quick strikes at his opponent. The man parried each blow with his swords

As the two fighters clashed, Arianell kept watch on their two opponents as they clashed with Garnet, and when they least expect it, she shoots

While every shot she took was blocked or was absorbed by their auras, it was enough to make them lose focus and give a Garnet a chance to strike them

But then, a distant gunshot was heard and that seemingly got the attention of their two opponents

The man with two curved swords suddenly rushed towards Garnet, locking him in a sword clash while the other one suddenly falls back and starts running away

Arianell upon seeing the other one retreat, trains her sniper towards him and shoots him continuously but to no avail as he eventually disappears into the building

On the other hand, the man left suddenly pushed himself backwards and threw something to the ground –crystalized Dust

Garnet immediately used his foot to push himself away just in time to lessen the explosion which was caused by a shot from his opponent towards the crystal

As the dusts started to settle, the man was already far away to pursue and is already about to enter the city and out of the clearing they're in

Garnet and Arianell didn't tried to pursue, they know that it could be a bait to lure them away from the airship and by extension, the people inside of it

Speaking of the people on the airship, Garnet said "Let's go back quickly."

"Agreed." Arianell replied

But as they turned around and started running back towards the airship, they started making out something on the hole… Bodies?

'Shit… Shit shit…' Garnet thought to himself as he saw it "Aria!"

"Don't worry, they're still alive…" Arianell assured him but her mouth suddenly twitched downwards

"But what?" Garnet asked, already knowing there's a but coming next

"But the amount of signatures I'm feeling is considerably less than last time…" Arianell solemnly said

'…' Garnet was silent as he realizes just what all of these are for, and as soon as he thought about it, he speeds himself up to go faster

As soon as they reached the airship, Garnet immediately recognized the two men positioned and unconscious on the wall, the captain and his vice, both holding guns… But how did they get knocked out then?

Arianell lifts the vice captain up as Garnet lifts the captain, and as soon as he entered the airship through the hole, he immediately noticed every single person is knocked unconscious, or so he hopes

Garnet immediately thought of his two daughters and as soon as he gently put the body of the captain onto one of the seats, he quickly went over to the spot they were once sitting on and found… Nothing, just some empty seats… And a single paper

He immediately took the paper and he immediately realized the writing style, or rather, a lack of it… The texts were printed

Garnet eventually shifted his focus onto the texts itself, and soon as he read it, he glared at it with anger

Arcene groans as she slowly wakes up back to reality

But just then, she notices something wrong, she can't move her arms, or her legs… Or almost her whole body

Energy rushes to her as her mind becomes fully awake making her feel the cloth tied on her mouth, preventing her from speaking

Arcene looks around the room, it's pretty run down to be honest, but of course that's not the thing she's focused on, no, she's focused on the man with silver hair wearing a set of black clothes

And it seems he noticed her as well

"Ah, you're finally awake, huh?" The man asked "That makes things a bit complicated."

Arcene stares at the man, he definitely wasn't the one who took them, it was that attendant who was definitely not a man

How people didn't see them being taken would be questioned later though, for now Arcene focuses on the matter at hand

"What's with that look? Why not just tell me instead if you're brave?" The man asked before slightly snickering "Oh yeah… That gag of yours."

Arcene blankly looks at the man 'Come on, if you're gonna make jokes, at least make it good.'

"Really?" Of course, the man noticed her look which revealed her thoughts somewhat "It wasn't that bad, I mean, it wasn't good but it wasn't bad either."

"But all jokes aside, you should very well know that trying to escape is not only impossible with not only the binds on you, but also with me guarding you so don't even try it so that it'll be easier for the both of us." The man warned Arcene who did not really reacted much

'Thank you Captain Obvious, you wouldn't be the one guarding me if you don't have at least some experience with combat, and it's not like I'm an expert in escaping so what chance do I really have?' Arcene thought to herself and it's practically dripping with sarcasm

"You know, there's something about you that piqued my interest, every single kid in your position would've cried, called for help in their helpless situation, buy you, you don't even care that you just got kidnapped, don't you?" The man asked asked Arcene

'... Yeah.' Arcene thought to herself as she realized that what the man said was true… And now that she's aware of it… She feels awkward and twitchy as she thought over her own feelings

But in her deep thought, she didn't notice the man's smirk, but her attention was eventually taken by what he said "There it is, doubt, and do you know what is always with doubt? Fear, hehe."

'Is… Is he trying to manipulate my emotions?' Arcene thought to herself as her fingers and toes twitched 'If he is…Then he's doing a good job at it.'

"Also, you might not care for your own circumstance… But how about other's? Or better yet, your own sister?" The man asked which actually got Arcene to react

Arcene looked intensely at the man as she immediately got what he's implying but did nothing else than that

Although, while Arcene liked to believe she does not care about Summer, or anyone else, that is just a blatant lie… Whether Arcene denies or not, it's undoubtable that she cares for Summer, along with Arianell and Garnet… I mean, how could she not? Her last life didn't really gave her a good parental figure and she grew up mostly alone, not in a physical sense, but more of a emotional sense

And to think that this man has the audacity to threaten her… It makes her blood start to boil… If only she could do something…

"Hahahaha! And she reacted!" The man laughs as he finally got a more clear and obvious reaction out of Arcene which just made her annoyed even more

'There's nothing currently at my disposal to use… Nothing to escape with, I don't even know where Summer even is… She could be behind me or maybe in a different entire building altogether, and I wouldn't know better… Heck, I don't even know where I am, how could I even escape from here…? Easy, I can't… God damn you, literally.'  Arcene thought to herself as she ponders upon her choices

Tinges of fear course through her body as she realizes her hopeless situation but Arcene quickly squashed it, this is not the time to feel fear nor is it the time to despair

But… What could she do? There's nothing she could do…

For the first time in her two lives, she chose to do something without any external influence, and yet the world said no and didn't let her act on it…

All she could do is just stay there

"They are clearly playing mind games with us." Arianell pointed out "They could've easily robbed anything of value here, and yet they took people instead, seeking for lien in exchange for them, and maybe something even more."

But Garnet didn't cared about those details as he paced back and forth around his spot

"Garnet! Stay focused!" Arianell exclaimed

"I am focused!" Garnet shouted back in annoyance

"No you're not! You're only focused on the fact that they took our daughters!" Arianell pointed out

"And you're not!?" Garnet asked

"Of course I am! I worry what those damn bastards might do to them! But worrying alone will do nothing! But the faster we make contact and negotiate with them the better! And you're not focusing enough on that!" Arianell shouted back, getting fed up with Garnet's antiques

"And what if they don't want to negotiate? You said it yourself! They're playing mind games with us!" Garnet pointed out "And what if they're with Salem as well?"

"Don't just throw her name around like that!" Arianell warned "If people hear that, what will Osama say to us!?"

"Osama will say nothing! It's not like they know who she is anyways." Garnet replied

"... Fine, I'll make you a dark chocolate cake after all of this is done as a celebration… Okay?" Arianell asked

"... Are you bri-"

Suddenly, a groan was heard which got both Arianell's and Garnet's attentions as they look at the source of the groan, it was the captain of the airship waking up

Arianell immediately went towards the captain before she kneeled down towards him so that she would hear whatever he might say as well as checking on his health, she might not be a medic, but being a Huntress, you should at least know some basic first aid and checking if someone is still alive and healthy

The captain slowly opened up his eyes to reveal his reddish-brown eyes "Aarrggh…"

"Hello Captain… Uh…" Arianell was about to greet him but immediately finds out that she forgot what the Captain's name or even surname is "Are you feeling okay? Nothing hurts?"

"No… No, nothing hurts." The captain responded with a slight pause in between before he tried to stand up "But I do feel weak."

"Then it's best for you to not stand up for now, conserve your energy." Arianell said "What happened while we were gone?"

"I… Don't know, both me and my co were shooting the… Bandits to push them away from the airship when I just felt… A hand grabbing my head and… And that's all I can remember." The captain answered "Where's Albert?"

"Albert?" Arianell asked, not knowing who that is

"My co-pilot." The captain specified

"Ah." Arianell said "He's on the seat behind us, sir. He's okay, just unconscious just like everyone else."

"I see…" The captain said "You have my thanks… Silvestro was it? "

"I'm afraid not, my name is Arianell, sir." Arianell politely corrected him which got the captain confused

"You're not the other Huntsman?" The captain asked "Silvestro Rivera? I assumed that your name wasn't Garnet, the other Huntsman mentioned to me because that name sounds too… Masculine."

"I'm afraid not, sir." Arianell said

"Then… Where is… He?" The captain muttered to himself

"He and I were separated by the attack by the bandits, I remember him falling back and saying that he'll be close to the airship to protect it, that's why I was willing to go a bit far away from the airship to try and catch the bandits." Garnet suddenly talked

"So you're Garnet?" The captain asked

"Yes, sir." Garnet answered

"Quit with the 'sir' you two, there's no need for formalities." The captain said "But anyways, if that's the case, then where is he now? I didn't see anyone when Albert and I were shooting away the bandits."

"... You said you felt a hand suddenly hold your head, right?" Arianell asked after a moment of silence

"Yes, that's right, that's the last thing I remember." The captain answered

"What if… That's a semblance? Based on your account, the hand that held your head was probably the cause of you becoming unconscious, and that would definitely explain why everyone here was unconscious when we got back to the airship." Arianell said "And that might explain why a Huntsman like… This Silvestro could disappear."

"Wait…" Garnet said as he realized something "Are you saying that Silvestro is part of the 21 people that got kidnapped?"

"Wait wait, kidnapped?" The captain asked as soon as he heard it "21 people that got kidnapped?"

"We found a note when we got back to the airship, we also found out that the people here are less than what we remembered." Arianell said as she motioned Garnet to show the captain the note which the captain immediately snatched as his eyes narrowed

"..." The captain said nothing as he stares at the paper and both Arianell and Garnet offered no word as the captain looked at the paper up and down, rereading it over and over again

"It's printed, so we won't be able to track the people behind this using their handwriting." Arianell added, trying to make the captain not overly focused on the paper in his hands "We were thinking of trying to make contact with them to try and nego-"

"Negotiate?" The captain asked "You want to negotiate with them? For what?"

"They have innocent people right in their hands and they could easily take it if they want to. Negotiating is our best option for their guaranteed safety… Even if it isn't much, it's the best guarantee we could take." Arianell said

"No, I meant 'what will we negotiate with them?'." The captain asked, correcting the misunderstanding

"... Lien is our best bet…" Arianell answered but even she knows that her answer sounded unsure

Everyone was silent and said nothing, they were all honestly stumped

And then, Garnet voiced something that they all have concerns with "What if they don't want lien?"

Now, everyone is stumped once again and no one said nothing which made hearing the groan that reverberated around be easily heard

"Albert!" The captain shouted as soon as he recognized whose voice was the one that made the groan before he immediately stood up and went directly towards his co –Albert

"Aarrggh… Huh?" Albert groans before he says "Argh… Elin?"

"Are you alright? Do you feel any pain?" Arianell asked Albert

"Ah… No, no I don't." Albert answered as he sat up on his seat "What's the situation?"

"21 people were kidnapped." Garnet answered which got Albert to be silent for a few moments

"What the fuck happened while I was out?" Albert asked as soon as he regained his composure

"We don't know either, we just came back to the airship after those bandits retreated and found everyone unconscious." Arianell answered "I apologize."

"No… No, don't apologize, I'm sure you did all you can do, if there's anyone to blame, then it's those bandits." Albert hoarsely replied as he shook his head "Where's Elin?"

"I am right here." The captain –Elin said which seem to surprise Albert

"Jeez… Where the heck did you come from, you ghost." Albert said before he cleared his throat

"If you have enough energy to be sassy, then you have enough energy to brainstorm with us on what to do next." Elin retorted

"I- Wha- I wasn't bei-" Albert tried to reason but he was interrupted

"Either way, you're going to brainstorm with us on what to do next." Elin firmly said

"... It's not like I said no to that anyways." Albert muttered to himself but still purposely making loud enough for everyone to hear

"Putting that all aside… What shall we do? We can't just rely on just one plan that might not even be that reliable after all." Elin asked

"Before that… Mind filling me up with the details of what this 'one plan' you mentioned?" Albert asked

"The kidnappers left a note that says that they want compensation for their return, but didn't say what it is, Arianell here thinks it's lien and she wants to use that as the compensation but Garnet and I here think it's something else." Elin explained

"I actually don't think they want lien… That seems too shallow for them to attack an airship. There are multiple more better targets like undefended settlements… Why waste your resources on a flying airship? I just hope they targeted an airship so that they can get even more lien than what you could get from settlements and not for something else." Arianell commented

"I mean… Lien sounds like our best bet?" Albert said after a moment

"That's what she also said…" Elin said "But personally, I doubt it."

"... Then what the heck do you want us to give them? We have nothing else to offer but lien…" Albert pointed out

"What if… We don't." Elin said

"What… Are you saying that we don't give them anything!? Then how about the… Wait…" Albert was about to complain before he realizes that Elin's line of thought is

"Yes, what if instead of just giving them compensation for the kidnapped people, we just take them from the kidnappers' hands ourselves?"

"Wait wait wait… Isn't that a bit of a leap in logic?" Arianell pointed out "Also, that's a very dangerous plan… What if the bandits realize what we're planning to do and they kill off the people one by one?"

"Alright… What if we just combine the two plans together?" Garnet proposed "First, we try to negotiate and once we find out what they want, we can either try to bargain or try to save the hostages ourselves?"

"... A better plan is to scour the city for possible locations and if possible, try to locate where the people are being held as we are negotiating, and if the negotiations go bad, whoever is the negotiator will send out a flare to notify the scourers." Arianell said after looking blankly towards Garnet for a few moments

"But we're only 4 people? So far, nobody else seems to be waking but us…" Elin said as he looked behind to see all the passengers and staff that were all unconscious before he continued "And leaving people here unattended is also too risky."

"Good thing that my semblance lets me clone myself… Although, it does equalize my aura between my clones and me which makes both me and my clones weaker than I am when I'm in my original form." Garnet said "And my wife here could cover me with her semblance of camouflaging."

"That's… That's awfully convenient for us, but frankly, I'm not complaining." Elin commented

"Honestly, same." Albert agreed

Although, Arianell said nothing as she nodded before she thought 'That… He's going to use Caliburn isn't he…? I… My semblance isn't camouflaging…'

Caliburn is a sword that has an ability that should be used with extreme caution… But… But could Arianell really say anything? This is… He's going to risk his own sanity for a chance to save her and his daughters… Their children…

Arianell's hand tightens on the arm rest she's holding… Damnit… She could do nothing to help Garnet in this situation…

"Garnet… Be careful…" Arianell said to Garnet

"I will." Garnet replied as he nodded

"You two are already planning something without even talking to each other? Jeez… Huntsmen are a whole different breed of people huh?" Elin commented

"Says the person who literally fought an Ursa barehanded and killed it with no scratches in his body." Albert commented and Elin said nothing in response

"Anyways, so, mind sharing both of your plans with us?" Elin asked both Garnet and Arianell

"I'm a bit ashamed to request this but… Could you two stay here in the airship to protect the people here?" Arianell asked

"Sure, I don't see why not?" Elin replied

"I'm with Elin with this one." Albert said

"So… This is what we're going to do."

"HEEEY! WE'RE HERE TO NEGOTIATE!" Garnet shouted, his words echoing in the surrounding buildings

"Garnet will go out to negotiate the terms while I and two clones of Garnet will scour the city, I will search through the northern part of the city, all of us have a compass right? And also, you also have different coloured flares right?"

"Of course, why wouldn't we?"

"Alright then, I will search through the northern section of Warzawa, around 315 degrees to 40 degrees. Garnet will go to the south to try and get the attention of the bandits as we're sure that they would be monitoring the airship and the two clones will be scouring out the east and west sections of the city

"Using… My semblance, I will camouflage myself and the two clones up to the lines of the buildings and we continue on from there."

A man with short greyish black hair wearing a trench coat and black pants came out from one of the alleyways before he said "What do you have in you?"

"But what if the people are being held hostage down in the south?"

"If either of the two clones find nothing, then they will continue on their search down to the south."

"Why not make another clone?"

"It's not that easy, I can only make two clones and more than that will be too much of a strain on me, I'm already straining myself with two after all."

"And also, to add on to what Garnet said, even if he could make three clones at a time, it would still be unwise to do so because it would lead to a higher chance of being found out, we're already risking it with three people scouring around the city, one more person might be risking it too much."

"Lien." Garnet answered

"..." The man seemed to be in deep thought for a while before he said "How much?"

"A few hundred thousand." Garnet answered

"... And you think that's enough?" The man asked

"What if the negotiations go south? Are those what the flares are for?"

"Bingo, Garnet would send out a red flare to signal that the negotiations went south and our search should be quickened immediately. And in the case that one of the scourers or Garnet found the place where the people are being held, then whoever will find it will send out a green flare but only when Garnet already sent out a red flare, and if somebody got injured, send out a black flare. Everyone understood? Good, let's go."

"That's the most we have…" Garner replied

"Well then… I propose another way of compensation… Your life." The man suddenly announced as he charges to Garner with insane speed as the man held something in his waist

Garnet quickly jumped out of the way as he pulled out his greatsword which was quickly noted by the man

"Oh? Is that the infamous Caliburn? Gold trimming? Check, blue, green and black outlines? Check, held by a Dieter? Hm… I guess that isn't check." The man started listing but as he was talking, Garnet wasted no time and immediately accessed the library of souls within Caliburn

Thes gem-like piece on the middle of the crossguard of Caliburn started to lighten up a little bit before Garner felt his soul being invaded by information but Garnet held on and tightened his grip on his sword as he grit his teeth in slight pain

And then… A slow melody of a violin is heard… It was slow… Elegant yet… Almost disturbing

Garnet could see the man's previous nonchalance slowly turn into caution as he heard the sound of a violin that came out of nowhere

"You…" The man said with a tinge of fear in his voice as he glared towards Garnet "KILL HIM!"

Multiple gunshots were heard

Garnet immediately accessed the library again and used it to distort the space around him to knock the bullets' trajectory to anywhere but towards him

It looks like they didn't even plan for negotiations in the first place… Garnet immediately reached out towards his waist to grab the flare gun given to him by the captain of the airship but another volley of gunshots forced him to block

"Calling for allies? Look! We have a coward here! I guess I should've known that ever since you stopped talking earlier!" The man provokingly shouted

Garnet's right eyebrow twitched… If he wants to play the games of emotions, then so be it

The sounds of the violin fated as it made a portamento which caused the man's and his allies in the buildings around them nerves to rise… What the heck is happening?

And then, a sound of an ominous and loud sound of a tuba and cello were heard before the sounds of the violin returned

The music almost sounds heroic… If not for the fact that it was played in a minor key which made it sound… Villainous…

Tense… Fear…

Run, run, run, run

"Your monologue about Caliburn let me know one thing; you're part of the Council of Salem." Garnet coldly said

A massacre is the only thing waiting for them as Garnet held Caliburn with his eyes serious yet full of anger, he has enough of their bullshits

If negotiations are not what they want, then he will give something they seem to wish for… Death

Arcene mindlessly tugged at the binds holding her hands together just to see if it changed… Which of course it didn't, not like she's doing anything to change it anyways

But as she just looked around the room, her imagination ran wild as she had nothing else to do anyways… Who knew being kidnapped would be boring?

She's just either waiting to be shipped off, killed off, or be rescued, although the two first options are more likely than the last, and if she could say something about that, she would've chosen to be killed off rather than to be shipped off

And how to achieve that? Annoy the kidnappers as much as possible

Although… Being gagged made any attempts at vocal annoyance and verbal beating impossible… And then she remembered one thing, her guard seems to want to get a reaction out of her right?

Why not deprive him of such?

She would be the one getting a reaction from his guard instead while simultaneously depriving him of what he seems to want and annoy him, sounds like a good deal for her

Although, that led to one thing… Boredom… Her greatest frenemy

It serves as a good motivator to do random bashizz, but that doesn't change the fact that boredom is boredom…

The worst thing? Her guard fell asleep because he also got bored, oh if only she could do the same… Falling asleep isn't as easy for her

You know, she always wondered what her emotions would be if she had gotten to an extreme circumstance like right now… And feeling nothing but boredom about it is something she expected… But it made her more… Abnormal… And as if she didn't liked that enough, abnormality equals attention

Arcene mindlessly tugged at the binds holding her hands together just to see if it changed… Which of course it didn't

Ah… What to do, what to do

Oh right, she did have circumsense, how could she forget about that? Answer would be because she hadn't even thought about it, much less used it in the past… Year? More than that? Eh, either way, a lengthy amount of time

Arcene took a deep breath through her nose, before she shook her head trying to remove the drool off her face which the reason why it even existed was because of the gag

Anyways, Arcene took a deep breath through her nose (again), mentally preparing herself for the assault of information to her brain and the pain that comes with it…

And…

A body on a chair, tied a few meters behind her, her guard sleeping northwest, 2.9 meters away, the door in front of her with a rough texture the keys in the guard's waist his two sicklessheathedtohis waist thedanglinglight bulbontheceilingthewires connectedtoit goingoutoftheroomtherough textureofherguard'sclothestheflyonherleftsidebehinf heronemeterawayfromherflyingon analtitudeofonepointsevenmetersthesofttextureofthe person'sclothesbehindhe-

Arcene bit her gag tightly as pain assaulted her mind due to the amount of information being transported to it in practically an instant and she immediately turned her skill "off"

Although, the pain isn't as painful as the second time she tried to use it, it is still enough to hurt her quite a lot

But… This ability of hers allowed her to know quite a few things: the guard watching her had keys, although she doesn't know they are for, and all her binds consists of ropes, no chains with padlocks, so that'll be useless for her except as a weapon, if she ever got a hold of it (unlikely), then she'll use it as a stabby stab stab

It might not cause much damage, but pain would be quite the challenge to overcome

Although… Her guard seems experienced, right? Shouldn't discount that he experienced unimaginable pain before

And also, the person behind her appears to be a small girl… Don't ask why she knows the gender, ask her ability, not her

But then… The eyes of her guard suddenly opened, before he said "Looks like we have a visitor."

Arianell immediately stops running as soon as she sees the flare… The red flare in the sky in the distance

She quickly took a hold of her compass to see what direction it was from… South, Garnet

Her grip tightened, only Garnet had a red flare given to him… And it was meant to signal one thing: negotiations are not possible

But… It's only been a few minutes since they separated, 15 at very most even! How did the negotiations deteriorate that fast? Did Garnet say something thoughtless? Was 900,000 liens not enough?

… What if they didn't plan to negotiate in the first place?

Damnit… Arianell started to pick up the pace, it's best to scour this section of the city as fast as possible to avoid detection

A few more minutes passed and then… She felt it… A few signatures of aura, on her right, a… Few tens of meters away?

Why didn't she feel it earlier if the signatures are this close to her? Her range is over 300 meters!

To think they have a person that counters her semblance… This is too much to be a coincidence… Is this really part of Salem's machinations just like what Garnet assumed? If so… She should be extremely careful

Arianell immediately started to slowly walk towards the signatures as light as she could to avoid making any sounds while slowly pulling out her spear…

*BOOOOM*

Blood spluttered in the surroundings as a person's innards explodes and as it did that, large and loud boom was heard

"RAAAAAAH!" Another man screamed as he charged towards Garnet, hoping to serve as a distraction for the gunners to fire, but…

Garnet swung his sword, Caliburn, horizontally in quick succession, decapitating the charging man in an instant. Blood spurted from the severed head, splattering the already blood-soaked surroundings

Garnet then used the broadside of Caliburn which he coated with his aura to block the incoming bullets before he pointed Caliburn towards the source of the bullets

The gem in the middle of the crossguard of the sword lit up before electricity started to appear and then those electricities propelled itself to where Caliburn is pointed towards with an insane acceleration and speed

And then Garnet whipped his head towards his back as soon as another one started closing in towards him behind his back

Garnet pointed Caliburn to the direction of the person coming towards him before a the gem lighten up slightly before a loud ear-splitting sound ripped through the air

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! MAKE IT STOP! MALE IT STOP!" A masculine voice shouted, the pain in his voice almost palpable

The gem lightened up once again before electricity started to manifest around the blade of Caliburn and then… The electricity suddenly propels itself in insane speeds going straight towards where the voice is coming from

And then the shouts were no more

The whole surroundings eventually became quiet… Only the drippings of blood was heard

Garnet slightly shook Caliburn before the gem lightened up once again… And then he felt aura signatures… Or rather, a lack of thereof

He started walking… Slowly picking up his pace…

Still no one

Although, while the abilities stored inside Caliburn is a weaker version of what they really are if the person who stored it didn't really used Caliburn for long enough to establish the ability more just like Arianell, her Soul Discernment stored was still strong enough to detect souls for around 100 meters

And Garnet used that to its fullest extent

After a few minutes… He felt what he's finding for

A few souls… Inside a building in front of him

Arianell slowly creeped towards the building with her spear in hand

She needed to be careful… Extremely careful for even the slightest thing that could alert whoever the guards are which will deteriorate the situation even further

And she'd like to avoid that with the best she can

Slowly but surely… Slowly but surely she held her spear as she leaned in towards the door… The souls aren't behind this door… They seem to be in the room after this but… What if she was wrong and they were actually in this room but just on the opposite side?

She weighed her options, her mind racing with different scenarios. Should she open the door slowly, risking being spotted by the guards on the other side if they were in the adjacent room? Or should she forcefully barge in, potentially alerting the enemies to her presence if they are in the room beyond this one?

Carefully… She has chosen an option

"Hehe… Things are about to get interesting." The man commented as he immediately took out his two sickles before the blades unfolded to reveal a gun barrel

Arcene looked at the scene unfolding before her with growing nervousness… A fight is about to erupt, she just knows it… And from what it looks like, she'll be in the middle of it and she does not like that one bit

As the man stood up, his sickles in his hands, and his eyes locked to the door as his face formed a smirk

Things are about to get interesting, but Arcene wants nothing to do with it, she tries to struggle her hands to see if she can wiggle them out of the ropes but all it does is just cause her arms to be covered in pain… The ropes are tied tightly to her wrists, there's no way to remove that kind of thing without external help

And with a deafening crash, the door is ripped from its hinges and slams open

Garnet charged towards the building and when he reached the door, he wasted no time in delivering a swift and powerful kick, shattering the door with a thunderous boom

Instead of using the Caliburn however, he used his own greatsword that actually can mechashift and also has a gun installed in it for range battles unlike the old Caliburn which probably didn't even saw a gun at the time of its making, or even a mechashift for that matter

But anyways, Garnet pulled out his blood red and silver greatsword before firing a round towards the feet of every armed personnel he could see…

Actually, seeing as the people who are tied up are all still unconscious… He could maybe might kill every-

No! Garnet immediately shook his head… He will not lose his sanity right now when people need him the most!

But then… Garnet felt a soft, small and feminine hand hold his head from behind him

On instinct, Garnet immediately used the end of the handle of his greatsword to stab whoever was behind him… He lowered his guard for a moment, a crucial mistake

Luckily, the hand immediately pulled away, while he felt no contact being made by the hilt, he guessed it was enough to force whoever it was to back away from him

From what the captain and his co had said and from his own assumptions, a hand holding your head would be enough to render someone unconscious probably from a semblance they have

"Ah… You wouldn't go too far and hurt a lady, wouldn't you, gentleman?" A feminine voice seductively said and as Garnet turned around, he saw a woman with long black hair with red highlights and yellow eyes wearing a black garb

But Garnet ignored what the woman said as he shoots multiple times towards the woman

The woman quickly darted away from Garnet's barrage of bullets, her movements fluid and graceful yet Garnet cared not for that as he swings his greatsword towards the woman which she also dodges

But, using the kinetic force from a shot, Garnet altered the trajectory of his swing… Towards the woman which she did not managed to dodge and was hit

The woman was flown to the stone wall from the force of Garnet's blow before she hit her back on the wall, causing a visceral scream to erupt from her lips as pain shot through her body "AAAARRRGGHH!!!"

Garnet wasted no time and swung his sword at the screaming woman, silencing her but she's still alive… Something he does not like

He swung his sword again, and again, and again, and again, again, again, again, againagainagain againagainagainagain againagainagain AGAINAGAINAGAIN

Garnet snapped back to reality, his breaths ragged and sweat pouring down his forehead

He looked towards where the woman lay before, but all that remained were mangled innards and scattered body parts

Garnet shook his head as he turned back towards the unconscious people behind him… Innocent or otherwise

Arianell kicks the door open to see a man with silver hair and red eyes holding two sickles in his hands with a grin in his face jumping towards her

She immediately jumped out of the way and as the man went past the door, Arianell slashed the man downwards but because of the man's aura, the only thing it did was to knock him to the ground…

For a few seconds that is

Arianell immediately dashed towards the door and as soon as she entered the building, she locked the door behind her in mere seconds before she quickly went towards the watching Arcene who was tied and gagged to the chair

"You're safe now my daughter… Don't worry… There's nothing to worry about now." Arianell let out some coaxing words to Arcene, thinking she's probably afraid

She then held the handle near the blade of her spear before she cut the ropes tied around Arcene before she carefully did the same to the cloth on Arcene's mouth

*Bang* *Bang*

Even after her gag got removed though, Arcene did not even made a single sound which was typical of her but in the situation, it only made Arianell worry even more

"Here… Take this compass, the airship is directly south of here… Run as fast as possible and take Summer with you." Arianell said to Arcene who nodded slightly

~*BANG*~

But despite her thoughts and worries, she wasted no time and go towards the still unconscious Summer just behind Arcene who was also tied just like her sister moments before

~~*BANG*~~

Quickly and carefully, Arianell started to cut the ropes binding Summer just like what she did to Arcene but…

~~*BANG*~~ ~~*CRASH*~~

As soon as she heard the door crashing, Arianell immediately stopped what she's doing and strikes towards the man who jumped towards them

"Arcene! Get yourself and Summer out of here, NOW!" Arianell ordered Arcene who was still standing… Watching

Arcene seemed to snapped out of her thoughts before she immediately went towards-

Arianell ducked a strike from the man before she thrusted her spear towards the man's undefended stomach but he dodges it by twisting his body towards the left

Immediately after that, Arianell stopped her thrust and slashed towards the left… Towards the man

Unfortunately, it did not make contact with his body as the man blocked her spear with one of his sickles before he hooked her spear and then pulled it upwards with his sickles

But Arianell already know of this tactic and as soon as her spear got lifted upwards, she pulled her spear and used the opposite end of the spear to land into the floor to cancel out the excessive force of the pull

Although, she knows that that manoeuvre left her wide open so she jumped backwards, away from the man to recover her form

But the man wasted no time and jumped towards Arianell, continuing their battle

As the battle between the still smirking man and the focused and serious Arianell rages on, Arcene on the other hand went immediately towards Summer 'So she was behind me all along…'

I guess just another weird coincidence to add to her extremely long list of coincidences and one that she will also forget too, probably

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

Anyways, Arcene saw that some of the ropes tied to Summer was already cut to some extent, curtsey to her mother I guess, so this will be more easier than trying to untie it

~~*Bang*~~ ~*Clank*~

Arcene grimaced and flinched from the loud bang from a gun, she never did like loud and sudden noises… It brings bad memories… but she ignored it as best as she can as she removes the ropes on Arcene with her hands shaking

And there it is… Nervousness

~*Clank*~

Despite what she may say, despite what she may think, she is still a human, a person who has never experienced any kind of extreme situations…

And now… There's one right in front of her

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

While she may be slightly better at controlling her emotions, she is still a human, she can't do it perfectly no matter how much she wants to

Arcene slightly shook her head, there's no time in wallowing in self-loathing not when the situation needs all of her focus as even a slight mistake might cause them their lives

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~ ~~*Bang*~~

Arcene slightly flinched before finally removing Summer's gag after finally reversing the knot on the gag but… She looks around the room… There was only one way out… Through the door, there's no other windows, or an opening other than the door

And the thing between the door and her and Summer? Two adults fighting to the death…

…

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

…

Nope, she ain't going to risk her or Summer's lives just for a chance to escape…

But if they don't escape, she is also risking their lives

…

'Damnit, damnit damnit damnit… Why was I given this kind of choice!? I'm not good with decision making! I-I… I…' Arcene thought to herself in nervousness

For most of her life, she has been reduced to a slave in all but name, a slave to her own desires, a slave to her emotions, a slave to others to take advantage of, and a slave to her own family

And because of that… She grew used to others having some sort of influence in her decisions, if not outright making a decision for her…

Why her? She's the worst candidate for this… What if she's smart!? What if she's creative!? That means batshit when you're stuck between a rock and a hard place! When you're forced to make two hard decisions!

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

Think… Think… Overthink

The choice is obvious between the two, she should try to risk it for a chance to escape

But in doing so, the chances of being targeted will exponentially rise higher than them staying in the room… And by doing that too, they will also leave Arianell behind…Something she does not want to do…

~~*Bang*~~ ~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

… … Does she really have a choice though?

Arcene looked at the ongoing battle… She had decided… She's willing to risk

But suddenly running out would be too idiotic, not that she'd be able to do that anyways if she would be carrying Summer on her back but still, she should be smart about this

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

She'd wait for an opportunity… Damnit, if only she had a way to communicate with her mother to ask her to pin the man into the wall, giving them an opportunity to run away… But outright saying that would lead the man to also hear that

So… All she really could do right now is to wait… Wait for an opportunity to come

~~*CLANK*~~ ~~*BANG*~~ ~~*CRASH*~~

… Arcene looks blankly and slightly dumbfounded at the now newly made hole before she thought to herself 'Or they just outright crash and go through the wall, that's a possibility too.'

But she quickly shook her head before she went towards the still unconscious Summer 'There's no time to waste.'

Arcene then threw Summer's hands over her shoulders before she lifted her up 'Goddamn, she's heavy, I really should've worked out when I was given an opportunity...'

But despite her thoughts, she knows complaining would not do her any good especially right now

Arcene stumbled out of the building with Summer on her back before she cautiously took the compass in her pocket… Even a single misstep or wrong movement of her hands could lead to Summer falling, something she's trying to avoid doing

After a few seconds of trial, she managed to find out which direction is south before she walked towards it as fast as she can but not fast enough to exhaust herself quickly

Or so she thought as after a few minutes, she started feeling, deadly tired and exhausted

Arcene's breathing became ragged and heavy as her walking pace started slowing until she listened to her legs who was screaming from tiredness

She slowly put Summer down before she too lays down besides Summer, her shoulders and legs sore and tired, her breaths ragged and heavy, and her body covered in sweat

Even in her current life, her stamina is shit… Well, to be fair for her, her current body is that of a goddamn nine year old, if course it wouldn't be that developed in the physical aspect

But, she shouldn't rest for too long as it mi-

*Clank* *Clank*

'...' Arcene quickly put Summer on her back as fast as possible before she slowly went towards a nearby alleyway…

She knows that that clanking is not a figment of her imagination… And if she can hear the clanking of metals then… The fight between Arianell and that man is nearby

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

In her current state, trying to get Summer and herself far away from the ongoing fight is basically impossible unless she wants to be-

~~*CRASH*~~ ~~*BANG*~~ ~*Clank*~

A crash was heard before a gunshot and then metal clanking followed it…

… Someone must've been thrown and whoever that was, they hit a building, at least, that's her assumption

It seems their fight is getting more destructive, all the more reason to get ou-

Arianell was thrown into a nearby building before she held her spear with the end of the handle pointed towards where she thrown before she started shooting

And then the man suddenly appeared from the curve, dashing towards Arianell with his sickles… And his previous smirk not present

Arcene quickly hid her head back to the alleyway, she will not take even a slight risk of being found out

She looked towards the deeper parts of the alleyway and saw multiple windows… But no doors…That's it, she can hide in one of the buildings and not out in the open here on an alleyway

~*Clank*~ ~*Clank*~

Although… That means that she'll lift Summer into one of the windows…

Ah, fuck it, it's Summer's problem, not hers

Slowly, Arcene used her remaining strength to bring Summer to one of the lower windows before she climb into said window

~*Clank*~ ~~*Bang*~~ ~~*Bang*~~

And once she's inside the building, she reached for Summer's unconscious body and tried to lift her up and succeeded after a few minutes of trial and error

*Clank* *Clank*

Arcene then collapsed into the floor of the building, finally being so exhausted that once she's gotten into a resting position, she can't even think of standing up from it

After a few minutes of just resting, the only thing Arcene hears were her ragged breathing and the muffled clanking of metal and a few gunshots here and there

So when the metal clanking suddenly stopped, Arcene immediately noticed it… Did someone finally end up victorious from the fight? If so… Who?

While she hopes it was her mother, Arcene isn't optimistic to believe that that is truly the case, for as long as even a slight chance of things going south hill, then she will never think that things will go on her way, the way she wants things to go

And as much as she wants to look at who is the winner, not only that by doing so, it would lead to exposing her position and if it was that man who won the fight then… May Summer live on without her or her mother…

And even if that wasn't the case, it's not like she'll be able to stand up from her current position here due to her current exhausted state obviously

And if it was Arianell who won, surely she'll- actually no, she'll probably just head straight towards the airship, thinking we arrived there

Arcene gulped her saliva along with her growing nervousness…

What to do, what to do…

All she can do… Is to wait

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"There you are, little cat!" The man's voice suddenly angrily said out of nowhere and Arcene's fear just suddenly went through the roof

Without even managing to react, the man suddenly kicked Arcene causing her to fly through the open door

And then, when she landed on the streets, she didn't immediately stop as she continued rolling…

'A-A-Ah…' Arcene's mind was blank as pain fills her mind, and body

She started coughing involuntarily and she coughed so hard that she coughed out blood

She tried standing up, to run, to just get away from here, but she was too weak, too exhausted, and the fact that her body is screaming in pain didn't helped

'It hurts… It hurts it hurts it hurts…' Arcene thought involuntarily as she writhed in her spot due to extreme pain, with her teeth gritted hard, her eyes tearing up and her vision blurry

She heard distant footsteps coming slowly increasing in loudness but she wouldn't be able to react to it… Merely know that her end is nearing, and there's nothing she can do to stop it

"Are you hurt by the pain so much that you can't even scream?" Arcene heard the man's voice… But her cloudy mind couldn't discern just what his tone is

Arcene tried to order her body to look at her would-be killer… And barely was successful in doing so

With her blurry vision, all she could see was the man… Raising… Something…

And then her vision turns black…

"Y-You… A semblance awakening!? Tsk, annoying you are, indeed." The man's voice reverberates around her… Echoing?

But wait… She can't see anything… How can she still hear things?

"To think your semblance would allow you to turn into a petal…" The man's voice echoed around her once again… Petal? Turn into a petal?

…

What the heck is happening?

And then, right when the pain she felt from earlier has slowly subsided slightly allowing her at least some rest… The pain suddenly magnified

'!!!!!' Arcene felt like she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs from the pain she felt but she couldn't even feel where her body was… What is happening?

And then suddenly, in an instant, her vision turns back into normal before she shouts "AAAAAHHHHH!!"

"... To think you're still alive even after that…" The man said "You truly are full of surprises."

But Arcene ignored all of that as she writhed in pain on the ground once more… And this time, she's actually crying 'Make it stop… Make it stop! It hurts… It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!'

But despite her focus on the pain… Arcene felt it… She felt the man raising his sickles… Death is above her, and this time, she has no tricks up her sleeves

Arianell's eyes shot open, she was knocked unconscious but still… Alive?

She immediately looked around her surroundings but then immediately stopped upon sensing something with her semblance… Three signatures, two are her daughters and one is the man she fought against

But… She can sense that Summer and Arcene have somehow been separated… But that wasn't the thing that got her attention

Both the man and Arcene are less than a meter away from each other, and Arcene isn't even moving from her spot!

Despite the pain she's currently feeling, Arianell pushed herself from her spot and dashed towards the direction where she's sensing Arcene and the man

And as soon as she turned the corner she… She saw Arcene laying on the ground with bruises all over her body and the man looming over her while holding one of his sickles raised in the air while a few puffs of black smoked surround them

Anger flashed through Arianell as soon as she saw that sight and as she immediately aimed her spear to the man, she shouted "You do not touch my daughter."

She fired her guns towards the man which he quickly dodged

"I'm surprised you're still alive." The man commented with a monotonous tone but Arianell ignored that as she dashes towards the man now that he's a bit farther away from her daughter

Arianell using her spear, sliced through the air vertically down towards the man who blocked with his sickles

But this position was disadvantageous for her so she decided to back away from this lock and while doing so, adapting a position where she can defend any attacks easily

The man took no breaks as he goes in on the attack once more, slashing through the air towards Arianell who blocks any and all strikes

She could see the man gritting his teeth but she did not let that get into her as she continues to defend from the unrelenting attacks from the man

But despite neither of them managing to break through the other's defences, Arianell never let her guard down even once, she did that before and it led her being knocked unconscious, which was a surprise as she thought that she'll be killed off as soon as she got into a vulnerable state

And then, Arianell thrusted her spear towards the man who managed to stop it by hooking her spear with his sickles and raising it upwards

But as soon as Arianell pulled her spear, the man wasted no time to strike her with his other hand holding the other sickle

"Uhk." Arianell was thrown back slightly as she was hit in the stomach and was thrown slightly off balanced but immediately regained it after a moment

But… This time, the man didn't dashed towards her like he usually does… And it made Arianell nervous

And then, he said "You are no fighter, much less a Beacon graduate."

But Arianell said nothing, only nodding, she herself knows that and by the looks of it, her enemy has figured it out anyways

"Run away now, live and fight another day." The man said to Arianell with a serious tone, is this even the same person she's talking to? The man was smirking nonstop at the start of their battle, but now… What is this?

Arianell merely glared at the man in response to what he said… And the man seems to get the point

"If death is what you want, then death is what I give." The man announced before black smoke suddenly erupted from him

And Arianell knew no more

'N-No… No…' Arcene thought to herself as she saw Arianell fall to the ground as the black smoke quickly dissipates even with her blurry vision…

Why… If you're gonna kill me, why also hurt me mentally… Isn't the physical pain you caused me enough!?

Arcene tried to stand up but even trying to do it caused her body to ache in pain more "A-A-Ah…"

Damnit damnit damnit damnit damnit

"Don't worry, you'll soon be together." The man said

But… That single line… That single line made her angry

Her expression contorted into that of anger as her fists balled before she felt a surge of energy come to her

The man stopped in his tracks before he said "It seems you surprising me will never cease huh?"

But Arcene ignored that as she looked around her surroundings for any weapons she could use… And then she saw a nearby broken glass shard…

She darted towards it, completely ignoring her body screaming in pain before she reached out for the broken glass shard but…

Pain erupted from her right side as she was hit by the man with his sickles and was thrown away from the broken glass

And Arcene didn't regain her balanced from the knockback as she fell to the ground

"There's no point in fighting anymore kid… Just give up, it's easier for both of us that way…" The man said but Arcene merely glared at the man in anger

And as Arcene ponders on what to do next, her mind drifted to the unexpected attack from the man as she reached out for the glass shard –something she should've expected, the man clearly is experienced

But then… She remembered something… Circumsense

'Who cares if my mind gets overloaded! I'll make that goddamn bastard feel pain!' Arcene thought to herself as she turned "on" her circumsense ability and information poured in like an open dam

•

•

•

•

•

•

"Hm… Fine, you truly are interesting, eh? I'll break my code, and give you a slightly better fighting chance, and in exchange, show me how desperate you are."

•

•

•

•

•

•

Arcene felt more energy surged through her body as her circumsense… Gets saturated? What?

Instead of the usual "all information gets transported to your brain" circumsense… She just… Feels a few things in her surroundings? She can't properly explain it in words… It's like the first time she tried to use this ability of hers… A mystery that she never solved as to why it's different than her later attempts

But she quickly refocused her attention towards her current situation… With the current state of circumsense, she doesn't need to look around so that she can try to find something to use against the man

She looked straight towards the man who was just menacingly standing there a few meter away from her and as she looks towards him, she tried to search for anything sharp and durable nearby and reachable for her

"Still have a fighting spirit huh? I guess you also can't use your semblance now too, seeing as you didn't use it to avoid my attack." The man said and Arcene got an urge to retort back, and seeing as he's not someone respectable, why not give in to the urge?

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that avoiding your attack was a prerequisite for using my semblance. I'll make sure to consult the rulebook next time before I fight someone of your caliber." Arcene snarky retort to the man

"Like I said, you surprising me will never cease." The man said before he suddenly dashed towards Arcene with insane speed and acceleration and Arcene's eyes widened in response to that

And her vision turns black once again

"Tsk, that goddamn semblance of yours is getting annoying, you're making this harder for the both of us you know?" The man's voice echoed around her…

'I think I've gotten how this works.' Arcene thought to herself before she imagined herself manifesting just like how she imagined herself turning into a petal

And as soon as she did that, she jumped back but…

Arcene saw the man's sickles quickly coming towards her… And this time, the blade is pointed towards her

She needs to dodge it! Block it! Anything to avoid the blade hitting her

But… There's nothing she could do as the sickles made contact with her and…

She was thrown back?

Arcene looked dumbfounded as she regained her posture… As much as she to look at where the blade hit her, she doesn't want to risk getting another hit because she lost focus on the fight

And as she looks towards the man… She saw an even more serious face before he said "Looks like I shouldn't be underestimating you, if you can control your aura and make a barrier around you at that age, then I am sorry but I cannot let you live for any longer."

'... Fuck.' Was the only thought Arcene had as the man dashed towards her once again

Arcene quickly went into the same position that Uncle Hai taught her for fast evasion and…

…

…

…

…

…

~~*CLANK*~~

A spear suddenly pierced through the air, knocking one of the man's sickles out of his hands as both the spear and the sickle flew away from the impact

Arcene looked towards the direction of the source of the spear and saw Arianell… Dashing towards them

The spear went by so fast that by the time it even registered in her mind through her circumsense, it already made contact with the sickle…

The man quickly turned his head towards Arianell just like she did before he dashed towards her…

Seeing this as an opportunity, Arcene quick ran towards the spear and sickle that was on the opposite direction of where the man was going

And luckily, this time the man didn't interrupt as she quickly got a hold of Arianell's spear…

She wouldn't be able to go near the current ongoing battles that'll endanger not only her, but also Arianell as she would need to protect her

So… She decided to do the most logical thing to do, aim the gun component of Arianell's spear towards the ongoing fight and see if she can shoot the man

Of course, despite knowing where the gun component is from seeing where Arianell shoots from, she knows nothing on how to aim… Much less shoot accurately or even have a proper posture so she wouldn't go flying whenever she shoots!

So of course, that's a goddamn bad idea…

But… Is there anything she could do?

Answer is easy: no, there's nothing she could do, she doesn't know how to even hold a gun, much less fire it. She doesn't know any combat martial arts other than goddamn Taekwondo which she learned when she was a kid in her first life! She barely even remembers anything aside from the stance and a few kicks, punches, and deflection, and how would those help in a fight to the death against a more experienced and capable foe?

When Arcene was receiving a beating from the man, all she could do was to dodge or run, and it didn't even last that long!

There's nothing she can do to help…

'Ah, fuck it!' Arcene thought to herself as she took the sickle, not only is it smaller than the spear, it's also one of the man's weapons meaning she's depriving him of one of his weapon

And then Arcene ran towards the building where she and Summer was hiding before the man suddenly appeared again and threw her

'All I could do right now is to run, and take Summer with me. I'm a liability, so leaving is the best choice to make right now.' Arcene thought to herself as she ran towards Summer

And then a thought came to her mind, Arcene went towards another window before she threw the sickle as far as she could before she went back to Summer's unconscious body 'Holding that while carrying Summer would be extremely dangerous anyways.'

She threw Summer's hands over her body and started walking out of the building as fast as she can and not take too much attention from the ongoing fi-

"And where are you going?" The man's voice reverberates around the streets and Arcene's eyes widened in shock

'No!' Arcene screamed mentally… Why is she so unlucky!?

She ran straight back towards the building and immediately started looking for the best hiding spots

There! Behind one of the broken chairs lies a few broken cloths but it was messy enough and if she did it right, either one of them would be able to fit inside the cloth and not make too much of a bulge because they're kids after all, their bodies aren't that big

But… Two of them at the same time would be too much 'Not that I'm planning to hide anyways… '

This is a gambit she's playing… And gambits always requires sacrifices

While there are things she still wants to do… The best option right now for at least one of them to survive is to lure the man away… …

… … Dammit… This is… It hurts her too much… Thinking about the other possible outcome just hurts her too much

Arcene quickly put Summer into the messy cloth and as she's doing that, dusts started to fly all over the place but she kept in her cough to hide Summer as fast as possible

And as soon as she hid Summer, Arcene ran towards one of the windows before she climbed out of it

The man is hella fast, and she's surprised that he isn't alre-

"Why don't you just stop running? You're a smart girl, both of us knows that running just makes this harder for the both of us." The man said a bit distant but still quite close from behind her

'... As much as your offer is lovely, I still have a few things that are in need to be done by me.' is what Arcene wanted to reply but decided to focus on running away as fast as she can

But not even a few seconds later, she felt with her circumsense that the man is almost right behind her in almost an instant before she felt searing pain on her back as she was thrown forward before she landed on the floor of the streets with her face

'AAAAAAHHHH!' Arcene screamed mentally in pain

"Now… Can we finally end this… This hurts me just as much as it hurts you…" The man said which got a few flashes of anger course through Arcene but pain overwhelms her mind so much that she wouldn't be able to act on it regardless

And as the pain slowly subside in a much more faster rate than before, her mind gets clearer as well

Then she felt it… Just near her lies the sickle she threw away a few minutes ago… What a coincidence, something she will take advantage of

As fast as she can, Arcene stood up high enough that she can run but low enough that it didn't took too much time

And the man didn't even seem to try and stop her from getting the sickles just like how he did when she tried to reach out for a broken glass shard… Shouldn't he be even more cautious now that I'm reaching for an actual weapon?

Why is he just standing there menacingly?

Arcene then picked up the sickle then… What now? The man isn't moving from his spot, and it's not like she'll be able to win when she goes in on the attack, and that's when she's discounting the fact that she knows nothing about using sickles as weapons

She slowly backed away from the man, trying to create as much distance as possible while simultaneously keeping her guard up as she held the sickles in her shaky arms

"Just… Just stop this right now… There's no point in this, both of us know that…" The man solemnly said

'No… No, there is a point in this… I'm a distraction… I'm buying as much time as I can… And I'm also forcing you to go farther and farther away from Summer… There's no way I'm going to make it out of here alive… So I'll make the most out of the time I have…' Arcene thought to herself with grim determination in her eyes…

So what if that sounds a bit cliché? That doesn't change anything in her situation

And also, now that Arcene knows that the man is intent on following her, she can safely do what her plans without fear on it making her slower for nothing

She immediately turned her body on the opposite direction of the building Summer is in and ran as fast as she can

And this time, she'll use circumsense along with it to ensure she wouldn't be suddenly get hit without her not even doing anything

Arcene suddenly kick her right foot to push herself into the left towards another street while also simultaneously dodging the man's pounce just barely

But… The man was bound to catch her in due time

Arcene quickly ducked as the man's hand reached out for her before she kicked herself to the right so she can get away from the man

But all of those movements led her losing balance eventually which was evident as Arcene fell to the ground

And Arcene felt that the man just raised his sickle and is about to bring it down

…

…

Her vision turns black and she could feel the sickle hitting the ground with a clank, missing their target

"That semblance of yours proved once again, that it is indeed, annoying." The man's voice echoed around her

She remembered that immense pain she felt when she first used her semblance, and based on what the man said afterwards, he's probably the cause to it

So, despite the risk and despite her better judgement, Arcene turned back and her vision returned

But… Unlike the first… two or three times she used her semblance… This time, when she turned back… She felt nauseous

And wasn't that something horrifying in her current situation?

And because of her nauseousness, Arcene didn't managed to dodge the man's kick

She flew into a nearby building, hitting it hard as the sickle she's still holding flew out of her hands

"A-A-A-Ahh…" Arcene croaked as her mind filled with so much pain that it seemed to blank out

But that didn't stopped the tears falling down on her face

There was ringing in her ears but it didn't stop her from hearing the nearing footsteps, but she wasn't able to do anything in response

Or so she initially thought

Arcene reached out for the sickle who was nearby as the footsteps gets near

She heard the man muttering something but the ringing in her ears stopped her from hearing it clearly

Arcene gripped the handle of the sickle tightly as soon as her hand reached it

And then, she felt it

The man is over 900 centimeters away from her

And the man gets closer and closer, until, he's close enough

Arcene swung the sickle upwards as strong as she can

And the man caught the sickle on the handle mid-swing

Arcene quickly pulled the swing, attempting to cut the man as his hand is on the handle

And he lost his grip

Blood splattered around as one of the man's finger falls to the ground

The man groaned and growled as he held his bleeding arm in pain

But… Arcene could see the man's expression contorting into a different one… One of anger

Arcene quickly made one more strike knowing that the man will not make the same mistake

The man catched it again –this time with his left hand– and pulled it roughly away from Arcene's hands

And he held Arcene's head with his bleeding right hand and pushed it roughly to the wall causing her even more pain "Aaaahhh!"

And through the man's fingers, Arcene could see a slight glint in his other hand

But then, the man suddenly let go of her head and quickly retreated his arm

Although, not even a moment later he…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Arcene let out a bloody scream as she clutched her right eye as blood spluttered out of it

Hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt hurt

Pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain

That's all she could feel right now

"AAAAAAH-AH-AH-AAAAHHHH!!!!" Arcene continued to scream in pain which was mixed with cries

Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop stop

"Why don't you just STAY DOWN!?" She heard the man scream as metal clanking suddenly ensued

Something constantly moving is all she could see with her blurry vision as tears covered her only working eye –her left eye

But even with that, the pain is still something she has never experienced before as she grit her teeth and try to hold back as much tears as she can

'Arcene… Why are you still here?' was Arianell's thoughts as she fought against the man once again 'And… Where is Summer? Where is your sister?'

But she couldn't say it out loud as she ducked against a horizontal swing made by the man before she returned the strike with a strike of her own as she thrusted her spear towards the man's chest but he just bended his body to the right side, essentially sidestepping it

But both of them had overextended their arms too much from their body, leaving them wide open to attacks

And both of them jumped back away from each other, attempting to recover their forms

"You should already be dead multiple times over by now." The man commented towards Arianell who did not replied

Arianell glanced towards her left where Arcene is clutching her right eye with bloody hands… And her heart clenched

"If you're not going to die… Then what about her?" The man rhetorically asked before he turned his body towards Arcene, preparing to dash forward

Seeing this, Arianell quickly went between the man and Arcene while facing the man who then dashed forward

The man swung his sickle towards Arianell who blocked it with her spear

And then he hooked her spear and pulled it downwards

But Arianell was expecting that so she let go of one of her hands holding the spear and attempted to punch the man who caught it with his left hand

In this lock, both the man and Arianell's eyes met each other, blue met purple

That's one physical trait that makes them both different –while both of them might have silver hair, that's where the similarities end

And this showed when the man was willing to kill off a kid and when Arianell is willing to sacrifice anything on her for Arcene and Summer

Anything, I say

The man used his forehead to headbutt Arianell as strong as he can which sent her a bit backwards and a bit disorientated

And while the man was also disorientated from the headbutt, he's focused enough to know what he's going to do

He held his only sickle in hand tightly as he closed in the distance between the man and Arianell before he took a strike upwards

Cutting off Arianell's right hand

"Aaaaahh!" Arianell let out a scream of pain for a few seconds while clutching her right shoulder which once held her right arm

And… The man wasted no time and immediately took the spear that Arianell uses before he-

Arcene saw her… Arianell is still alive and fighting… Just for them to live… Just for her to live, her eyes might've been blurry but it's now clear enough to identify things

Just… Leave me here, take Summer with you… I'm a liability anyways… And that is proven by the fact she can't even stand up from where she's laying

And then…

As Arianell has her back in front of her, Arcene couldn't properly see the fight ongoing, not like she would be able to see it happening properly anyways

"Ggrrr…" Arcene growled in pain as she clutched her right eye… The pain while more subdued than initially, it still hurts

And then a spear went through Arianell's chest… Specifically, where her heart should be

Arcene's eye widened as soon as she saw the bloody spear which its spearhead dripping with blood ended right in front of her face

No… … No… No, no, no, no no no no

This can't be happening… It shouldn't be happening… In this circumstance… She should be the one dying… She… She

The spear suddenly gets retracted and Arianell fell to the hard, and cold ground of the streets

No no no no no no no no no

Stand up! Like you've been doing earlier! Stand up… Stand…

No… She should be waiting… Her mom didn't stood up immediately earlier after all

But then, she heard footsteps…

She looked upwards from Arianell's unconscious body and saw the man… That man that has been causing her all kinds of pain

Arcene grit her teeth in an attempt to contain her rising anger

She stood up and held the sickle tightly in her right hand as her left hand still held her bleeding right eye… Or if there is even an eye left in there… She's not optimistic about that

Not that it matters anyways

Arcene saw a fast moving blur

And there it is… The thing she's been expecting for years now…

Death

Even without looking down, she knows that the spear was thrusted into her upper body…

And it was pulled from her as fast as it was thrusted

Arcene fell to her knees as she held the hole on her body with her left arm as the grip of the sickle in her right arm unfolds, leaving the sickle to fall to the ground with a clank

She put her right arm to the ground to keep her body upright

But that didn't mattered as well

Arcene felt pain on her neck as the spear was sliced through a part of it… And her body starts to weaken even more

And then suddenly, she was thrown back to the wall with a sudden and strong force, her head along with her whole body hitting the wall in full force

She can hear some screaming, shouting, and a few other things she can no longer describe or identify, but does that even matter?

And then… Her vision turns black

Fun Fact 1: You know the spaces after "Again, and again, and again, and again…" and after Arcene's vision turns to black the first time? The number of spaces is exactly 27, and how do you get 27? Multiplying 9 with 3, also, you know the 3 dots (...) before the man appearing on Arcene calling her little cat? There are exactly 9 of those

You know what chapter it is? 9, you know the date of the current chapter is taking place? April 14, year 50, and April is the 4th month. 14+4 is 18, which is divisible by both 9 and 3

You know how old this story is in terms of month? 9 months old, starting the count on August as that was the month where the original Prologue was published

Why am I saying those things? No particular reason, just thought I'd say it

Fun Fact 2: This chapter so far has received the most name changes… First it was "Desolate Place", then it was "Final Solution"... And then "Shattered Samsara", before I finally settle with "Burned out in the Flame"

Also, you may or may not have noticed, every single chapter names have been a reference to either a song title, or a lyrics of a song, and I will be continuing that until the end of this story

Chapter 1 up to 8 are these lyrics:
"Memories Broken" - Broken Memories

"The truth goes unspoken" - Unspoken Truth

"I've even forgotten my own name!" - Lost Identity (a name could be considered an "identity")

"I don't know the season" - Season of Change (I do have to take a little bit of liberty here to fit the chapter)

"Or what is the reason" -  Missing Reason

"I'm standing here-" - Standing Here

"-holding my blade!" - Hold your Blade

"A Desolate Place!" - (former name for Chapter 9) Desolate Place

Sounds familiar?

If not, it came from the song "The Only Thing I know for Real"

Fun Fact 3: Word play is something I like to do… And guess what? "The best option right now for at least one of them to survive is to lure the man away…" is also part of this

There's a reason why Arcene thought of "… … Dammit… This is… It hurts her too much… Thinking about the other possible outcome just hurts her too much" immediately after that

And the reason? The obvious first outcome is if the man chased after Arcene, leaving Summer safe

But on the other hand, what if the man found Summer first while Arcene is on the run?

Let me tell you this about Arcene's personality, she's an open-minded person and also a person who considers every possible outcome, while there are a few things that she sometimes forget or just didn't accounted for, most of the time, that doesn't happen

Also, "gambits always requires sacrifices."

A/N:

Author: I made the chapter extra longer

The chapter: 13.8k+ words

Date of Publish: April 1, 2023 (GMT+8)

Quite the coincidence that I managed to publish this at this time