In the dark shadows of the labyrinth's first floor, an intense aura filled the air. It was undeniably an intent of malice, a desire to rampage and kill, to play with the bodies of those that were slain. Even just barely stepping past the gates of the labyrinth was enough to fill one with a sense of dread, one that even Valeria felt, gulping nervously as sweat trickled down her forehead.

As excited as she was, the moment she felt something lurking around the first floor, something that wasn't just the usual normal critters they faced - something within her began to have doubts. But she'd push that away, as this was her chance. This was her chance to show everyone the might of her team, her guild, her own power.

Scarlet, however, wasn't quite as reckless in that sort of thinking. She was here not out of obligation or desire to prove oneself, but because Radha was relying on her - because the chieftain (albeit indirectly) was relying on her. Some stupid nobles got cocky and made a mistake, and unless one stir up even more problems, the town's governing body had no choice but to comply their wishes to keep to their utmost confidentiality on their illegal matters. Now, it was up to her new guild, Modem, to deal with what could probably be the very end of their just-starting adventures.

And Rin, compared to the other two, was terrified. She was utterly terrified - what the hell did the gods above have against her? This was their second day, their second night as an official guild, and they were already about to face off against an F.O.E. - a Field On Enemy - by themselves. Sure, it was reportedly weakened due to the soldiers that accompanied the nobles' son, but it was also enraged. One less scythe-arm to deal with was good - deadlier intent was not.

Lastly, Remilia. She simply stared forward, into the darkness, and said nothing. This hexer girl was a mystery to everyone - where did she come from? Just what did she sacrifice to become a hexer - assuming all those rumors about hexers were true? And just who was she anyways? To all that, the onl thing going through Remilia's head at the moment was:

...dark, she thought, noting how eerie the place looked. The labyrinth may be a forest, and it may be a pretty sight with all the dark blue around her line of vision, but the presence of a powerful monster painted that beautiful nighttime into a terrifying nightmare. Not that she felt any intimidation from that. This was going to be a breeze, after all. What can one giant weakened praying mantis possibly do?

"A-alright," Scarlet muttered, taking in one last deep breath before tightening her clutch on a new sword she brought from Shilleka. "This... this is it. The Reaping Shade... i-it's definitely somewhere on this floor. You... you girls ready?"

"B-better believe it!" Valeria stuttered. She quickly shook her head and slapped her own cheeks, resolving to what she assumed would be an epic as hell battle. "I, I mean, hell yeah! We're going to-"

Rin quickly covered the brunette's mouth. "V-Valeria, sshhh! Not so loud!" she squeaked and looked around - nothing seemed to be jumping out at them. Sighing with relief, she let the landsknecht go. "B-be careful! What if yelling alerted the monster to us!?" the medic whispered.

"O-oh, sorry," the girl replied, a bit unsettled that Rin of all people had got somewhat mad at her - although what she was saying made sense. "Anyways, what should we do? Split up and search?"

Scarlet narrowed her eyes. "And get us all killed one by one? What are you, stupid?"

"Yeah, good point. Guess we should stick together, huh?"

"I think that'd be best," the redhead replied. She then noticed Remilia begin to walk deeper into the area. "W-wait, Remilia?"

The hexer paused and turned to the group, unfazed. "...used to it."

Scarlet blinked. "Used to... w-what, your eyes already adjusted to the darkness?" she asked, automatically assuming that was what her leader meant. Without even a nod, Remilia simply stared at her, so the redhead guessed it was the hexer's way of a (silent) confirmation, and sighed, before walking after the hooded girl.

Happy that they were at least making a start, Valeria nudged Rin forward so the medic wouldn't be at the back of the group, and followed after the three.

The exploration it self was unfruitful, if only because there wasn't a specific goal they had. They weren't actively seeking out the target, too - the situation called more for stealth and ambush, and being careful here was their top priority.

Except for Remilia, but she was generally quiet and hardly made any noise even with her footsteps anyways, so that was something.

As they quietly traveled through the floor with the help of the floor layout detailed on a provided map, Rin shuddered as she felt a presence nearby. The girl turned her head slightly, looking past Valeria, into the darkness that overtook the path they initially came from.

That split second was enough for Valeria to assume her friend felt something, and, despite not having felt anything herself, she quickly unsheathed her sword and turned around at lightning speed, prepared to deflect whatever might ambush them.

But nothing came.

Scarlet and Remilia paused to turn to them. "Val?" Scarlet asked, before quickly piecing things together and unsheathing her sword as well. Remilia watched as the three looked around, just to make sure they weren't about to be finished off without warning.

"...anything?" Valeria asked.

Rin shook her head. "N-no... not anymore. I'm, I'm sorry, it just, it felt like-"

"It's okay," Scarlet said. "Never hurts to be careful. Other than the Reaping Shade, other monsters are still on the floor as well, so we can never be too sure," she pointed out.

"True that. Although I'm sure we'd be fine regardless," Valeria replied, before patting Rin on the back. "Don't worry a single strand of your hair, Rin. We got this, yeah?"

The medic nodded nervously. "Um. Yeah... okay." My hair...? the girl wondered.

Scarlet turned back to Remilia. "Sorry. Just wanted to make sure," she said. To that, Remilia nodded in understanding, so she sighed with relief. At least the stoic girl understood the situation... she supposed. Although... "Man, nothing scares you at all, does it, Remilia?"

"...mn." The hexer turned back and continued walking.

"Sheesh. Remrem's made of steel or something," Valeria commented.

"...s-she's really brave, huh," Rin said, chuckling to herself before they all continued on their way. Certainly, the mood seemed to lift a bit after they confirmed that nothing was about to jump out at them, and the three became a bit more confident again.

But way in front, to Remilia, she was aware of something. She didn't tell them since it didn't seem like something that was necessary, given it'd probably freak some of them out.

But they were being watched.

Something was observing them, something was meticulously planning their deaths, planning out the brutal carnage that it would inflict on each of them, on their fleshy, blood-filled human bodies. It was calmly observing, cunningly, but the gaze was full of bloodlust.

It was the weakened Reaping Shade, that's for sure, and it seemed to be heading somewhere away from their direction.

Remilia could practically feel it, that deadly presence that might've been somewhat suffocating to her party members.

How amusing. Whatever danger it posed to normal adventurers, that monster was in over its head. As dangerous as the Reaping Shade could be, she understood pretty well that a weakened predator will never be equal to a perfect condition predator - it might as well as be on the same level as a prey, if not worse.

She came to a stop at a path that would lead to a dead end.

This was the moment anyone would huff out of pride, out of amusement, thinking about how to ambush the would-be ambusher itself.

Remilia was neither of that, even if she basically felt the same.

Scarlet, taking her stop as a sign of impending danger, immediately guessed what was to follow. "Remilia, that corner... is that..."

The hooded girl nodded. She didn't feel anything at the red haired landsknecht's face turning pale, but nevertheless didn't blindly rush into the dead end path.

Rin, behind the two, gulped. "O-oh... oh no. This is it, isn't it..."

Valeria blinked, before grinning. "I guess we're about to finish off this bastard, huh?"

"There is nothing exciting about this, just so you know," Scarlet muttered before turning back to Remilia, nodding. "Alright, Remilia. We're ready, I think. I assume you're going to surprise and bind it with your hex?" she asked.

Remilia returned the nod. "Arm. And legs."

"Got it. Then... on one, two..." Scarlet bit her lips. "...three!"

With determination, all four of them jumped the corner and prepared their weapons, Remilia's hands glowing with a strange, visible darkness that oddly contrasted the dark nighttime of the labyrinth. Shadowy tendrils shot up in front them, striking at their target.

The empty ground.

Remilia blinked. The others didn't lower their guards yet, but the sight definitely surprised them as well.

Nothing was there. Nothing had been bound, nothing had been momentarily made immobile, nothing had become a fresh target prime for defeating.

"...i-it's... not here?" Scarlet whispered.

"Damn, it must've been something else," Valeria said.

Slowly, Scarlet lowered her sword. "...maybe... maybe."

Rin shuddered. "I wish... I wish that, instead, maybe the Reaping Shade was so weak that other monsters managed to kill it and... I don't know... nature stuff..."

The brown haired landsknecht scratched her head. "Well, that'd be nice too, yeah, but... is that how it works?" she asked. "I always thought the labyrinth's monsters were more 'kill humans' than 'nature'..."

"Y-you never know that... just maybe..." Rin replied, but it was clear to anyone that she was spouting wishful thinking rather than facts.

Scarlet sighed. "Don't let up just yet, girls. It might be a trap, although if it is, then it'd be a damn hell of a smart Reaping Shade."

"It is a FOE after all..." Rin pointed out.

"Of course it's a foe," Valeria said.

"She means Field On Enemy, idiot," Scarlet explained.

Meanwhile, Remilia was, for once, at a loss. She didn't make a mistake - the Reaping Shade had definitely been here, trying and failing to lure them. It had been waiting her, in over its head, about to ambush them despite being weakened.

So where did it go?

Did she make a mistake? That wasn't possible.

That simply wasn't possible.

She didn't make mistakes. She was a powerful wielder of hexes and curses, she was the one who had been chosen for an important task. She knew this floor as if she had the floor layout memorized in its entirety. There was absolutely no way that she could've made a mistake.

So where did the Reaping Shade go?

The hexer actually had to hold herself back from showing any signs of surprise. Her lips were hurting, not from frustrated lip biting, but from the restraint to instead not do that. Scarlet looked back at her and, unaware of the inner turmoil going through her leader's mind, patted the girl on the shoulder.

"Hey, Remilia, it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Who knows, maybe the thing really was here." She shook her head. "It is a weakened monster after all - maybe it ran away. Either ways, don't think too much about it."

Remilia glanced at the landsknecht.

In a way, she supposed, the redhead did make sense. It's not like she was entirely wrong about the monster being here. It was definitely around the corner they turned - perhaps it did run away, just as her teammate guessed.

If so, then the hexer hadn't been wrong. After all, that presence she felt wasn't something that could be made up.

And in fact, maybe Rin was also right. Although the others didn't notice it due to the entire floor being quite dark, Remilia did spot several monster carcasses along the way, even if some started turning to dust right away - clearly the Reaping Shade had been on quite the rampage, taking out its bloodlust on anything it could find. Monsters must have tried to put it in its place, at least to try their hand at surviving - there's no way the Reaping Shade could actually take its time plotting an ambush.

Perhaps she really was thinking too much on this. Remilia slowly moved her head to nod, but something screamed within her.

Oh, it was that presence again. A third conclusion surfaced within her mind, lasting less than a tenth of a second, as she stretched her shadowy tendrils towards her teammates.

They had been outsmarted.

Pulling the three girls deep into the dead end, she let go of them unceremoniously, sending them sprawling behind her without warning.

"Ow! Remrem!?" Valeria hissed, a bit hurt by the suddenness of her boss' actions, but then something landed right in front of where the three had just been standing.

And if anything, the terrifying aura around the floor, that sense of dread that the three of them had been subjected to since stepping foot on the first floor?

That was nothing to what the brunette was feeling right now, her quick adaptation bringing her eyes open to the gigantic, looming figure of a four legged mantis, its skin dyed redder than red, its armor a dark shadowy grey.

The deadly reputation that F.O.E.s had... man, they really weren't kidding around, was how Valeria would later describe the experience.

Where they stood less than a second ago, the earth beneath the creature almost shattered, cracks forming from its impactful landing.

"E-eeek!" Rin screamed as she opened her eyes to see the one armed Reaping Shade ambushing them. It made to lift its only scythe arm upwards, possibly to strike at its nearest target - Remilia - in an upwards slash, so the hexer herself jumped back, the deadly appendage barely missing her face.

There. The naturally pale girl narrowed her eyes. Even if she had just used a bit of her power to cast a binding spell, even if it had been wasted, it didn't mean that she needed to wait. This admittedly somewhat clever monster was still rushing into things - if it thought that that was enough to catch her off guard, it was wrong.

She lifted her hand again, channeling energy through her arms.

As the Reaping Shade lunged forward again, the girl prepared to bind the monster once more, successfully this time. However, a splash of something suddenly obstructed her vision. Her eyes shut tight in slight pain, as drops of red covering her eyes took her by surprise.

What... The hexer was puzzled. She dodged that upwards strike, did she not? That attack absolutely did not hit her. Nothing made sense anymore, just what was going on?

Well. If that's what it thought she was thinking, it was wrong. Being blinded temporarily wouldn't stop her from clearing her mission. She forced her eyes open, prepared to take action even if her vision would be tinted red for a while.

What she wasn't prepared for was the mantis' one arm turned sideways, aimed for her throat. The vines of dark energy she had summoned, they were wrapped around the beast's body. Certainly, it would buy them some time, stopping the mantis from moving anywhere.

But she was very much still in its attacking range, and as the girl spent only the tiniest bit to comprehend what was going on, her legs moved instinctively to properl herself backwards.

Scarlet, finally adjusting to being thrown roughly behind the girl and taking in the sight of what was occurring these past two seconds, widened her eyes.

She wasn't going to make it in time. The hexer, her new leader, who brought her and everyone in - wasn't going to dodge in time.

But apparently, miracles could happen, because Remilia herself was sure that, in her eyes, the scythe did not reach her in time. She dodged successfully, almost tempted to grin at the monster, to mock it. An unexplained explosion of pain burst from her neck, but she paid that no mind - the girl was safe. The monster had missed again.

...huh... Her vision suddenly blurred. Remilia felt more bursts of pain radiating from her throat. Somehow, she was finding it difficult to stand, to focus, to breathe. What's going on? The girl suddenly began to stagger, and then, she fell backwards, collapsing on her back, the beautiful sight of the labyrinth's forest ceiling filling her view.

Ah. She did it again, didn't she? The girl made a mistake. Or the girl failed. She didn't move in time, did she? Suddenly, it was getting harder to think, as her body kept aching. Something warm was trickling across her upper body, but she wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

A scream of despair took over her ears, but they were also blurred, and maybe some voices were calling her name.

The darkness of the forest was beginning to feel even darker, darker than dark could be, if that made any sense.

Unable to move, unable to think, unable to respond to anything or take in her surroundings, Remilia lied motionless.

Scarlet almost lost herself right there. Clearly this battle would be devastating - but even fighting the urge to throw up after seeing that, seeing her guild leader's throat slashed, all that splatter of red painting the nearby grass a dark crimson - gods, she wasn't prepared for this.

It was Rin's scream that snapped her out of it, however, and she quickly reached for the sword she dropped. "Val!" she roared.

"R-right!" the brunette said, already prepared to strike. For a moment, the Reaping Shade seemed to falter - clearly it being 'weakened' wasn't just an assumption, so she took that opportunity to strike at it. (11)

However, her sword bounced off its armored legs.

"Shit!" she hissed, only piecing it together after this blunder that of course the mantis' armor would be tough as hell - she should've aimed for its glistening red skin, where she would most definitely have an easier time piercing through.

Now wasn't the time to be angry at mistakes though, and Scarlet knew this, which is why she completely let it go and instead took her chance as well. The redhead aimed for the the creature's waist, around the center, and swung her sword down. To her relief, she managed to inflict injury on the beast, earning them a gibberish hiss of pain from the mantis, who attempted to jump away from them.

Remilia's vines was keeping it in place, however, which meant that there was no longer any escape for the four legged killer.

What Scarlet realized too late, however, was that because she was more a slasher, and Valeria was more the stabber, she didn't quite inflict as much damage as Valeria could have, and now that the insect realized it couldn't escape, it simply began raising its one arm again, prepared to strike at its next victim.

The redhead's mind went into frenzy. She was directly underneath that thing's arm - there was no way she herself would dodge in time as well.

Realizing this right away, Valeria's eyes darted all over the creature in an attempt to quickly deduce where she should strike to get its attention away from her friend, before she redirected her thoughts elsewhere. Time was running out, and honestly, she wasn't sure why they hadn't thought of what she had just come up with in the first place - "Scarlet, shield!" she yelled.

Wasting no time, the redhead raised left arm and intercepted the mantis' strike with her shield, wincing from the impact, but nevertheless managing to keep her life. Now that she thought about it, the girl had barely ever needed to use her shield that she forgot she had the option to defend as well.

She seriously needed to thank Valeria for being the one to remind her of that. In fact, now would be a good time to repay that. "Val, go behind!" she yelled.

The brunette nodded - as much as they like to bicker with each other, it was easy to guess what the other meant right away as well. Because Remilia's binding vines was keeping the mantis in place, it can't escape, and it also didn't have the leisure to turn around since there was an enemy in front of it. Getting into its blind spot, behind it, was a prime chance for getting the thing by surprise, although that will only work if there was somewhere she could focus on on its back side.

Back around where Remilia had landed, Rin's vision blurred, her tears hurting her own eyes as she repeatedly cast a healing spell on her fallen leader.

"M-Ms. Remilia, come on, come on, come on...!" the orange haired medic rasped. "P-please, please don't die..."

She knew the dangers of exploring would mean that she was bound to see someone die, or corpses, here and there. She was prepared, she had been prepared - but as it turned out, she wasn't. She wasn't ready to die, and she wasn't ready to see her friends die, even if Remilia was... a more recent addition. Were they even friends? That didn't matter right now, though - the hexer was certainly strange, but Rin knew, somehow, she could tell.

Remilia was a sweet girl, deep down. She was simply an awkward person who probably had little to no experience with interaction, with socializing. But she was a good person, a caring person who gave her the chance to adventure with her friends, and so, Remilia was someone she didn't want to die either.

Although the amount of blood that had spilled from the hexer was, honestly, alarming, her repetitive curing seemed to be effective somewhat, the naturally pale girl's wound very slowly but clearly becoming smaller.

Something about it was bothering the medic, however, but she wasn't going to spend even a second dwelling on it. After all, even if it was frankly unbelievable that the hexer was still breathing after that, and apparently, conscious, she was alive and that was all that mattered to her.

"Ms. Remilia... Ms. Remilia, please," the girl whispered. With all that said, the hexer seemed to be out of focus though, if she was actually even conscious at all. That was concerning. "P-please say something... please tell me you're okay. If you died... I'd, I would..."

And still, the hexer didn't so much as stir a muscle, only her slowly breathing chest being a visible sign of life.

That was because within her mind, she had been struggling to stay conscious, and she was still reeling in the effects of nearly dying.

And the shock that came from not being able to dodge successfully, the trap that the Reaping Shade had laid for them, being caught and outsmarted...

Remilia wasn't quite sure how to feel. Was this... what adventuring was like? This was nothing like she had expected. She had something that she must do, and frankly, she thought it would be a breeze. Form a guild, adventure with her team members, gain fame, and ultimately, meet the chieftain. That was how it was supposed to go.

Why was she lying here, on her back, her throat burning with pain, her comrades fighting for their lives?

She was a f̷̢͔͔̞͍̪̥̕͜á̵̩̥̳͈͕̗̓̅̈́̑͂̿̈́͘í̸̧͙̼͇͓̣͚̗̟̬̜̫̖͂̓̿l̷̛̗̙̈́͒̍̆̎̽͆͆́̾ŭ̷͓̯̄r̴̨̨̛̼̲̍́́͌͌̔͌̒è̴̛̜̳̫̓̈́͂̂̈́̈́̇̃. Of course, she couldn't do anything right. It was just like what she had b̷̜̓̄͊͑̉̄͂̄̀͘͝e̷̡̧̡̢͎̟̪͉̦̞̼͇̻̟͐̓͆͌̿͌̆̓̊̒̀͘͜͝ę̷̱͙̭̟̠̺̜̻̗̂̑͒͊̓̍̆̃̐̒̆ͅṅ̸̡̨̨̧̡͖̠̥̬̼̼̭̩̋̉̌͋̉̓̈́̂͜͜͝ ̷̨̢̰͎̘̬͎̠̼̜͚̽͑ͅͅt̵̮̳̼͍̩̿͛̏̃̂̓̓̑̋̉͋̕̚͝ͅo̷̖͓̲̝̲̦̰̊l̸̢̨̝̩̰͔̜̥̱̦̟͕͓̍̈́̂̈d̷̡̢̳̦̣̻̫̝̫͍̗̱̙̭͑́͌ many times.

Worthless. Worthless. Ư̴͚̬̹̪̇̍̒̾̄͌͐͂̆̍̔̕̚͝ţ̴̺̫̰̈́̎̈́t̸̨̫̦̺̗̭̺͚͓͕̱̗̊̆͒̕͜e̵̢̋̎͛r̷͉̗͓̳̾͑͒̒̑̈́̀͋̇̉̕͠͝l̶̖̽̉͋̈ẙ̶̹̥͍̱̒̇͌̊͜ ̷̡̟̫̠̻̭̟͂͗̋̈͆̒͒̀̀̔̑̕̕w̷̤̭̥̄͌̏o̷̞̭͎̘̼̾ͅr̸̘̰͂̾̾̂̋͆̍̾̐͂͊́͘̕t̵̠̤̝͔̼̓̀͊̅̅̃͠͠ͅh̴͇̼͙͙̭̯̤̹̟̯͕̩͑͋͆̀̆́̄͑̒̓̐̑͝l̶̢̛͉̱̳̹̟͓̲̲͎̟̅̈́͑̀́́́͠e̷̹̖͈͔̍͊̉̂͋͐̈̇͗̄̇͜͝ṡ̶̞̬͈̺̥̱̞̳͔̟̩̳͌̋̎̉̈́̽͌̕s̴̢̝̥͕̥̞̼̣͖̥̦̮̰͕̻̓͐̏̇̌́͝. She was a p̴͈̰͈̎͒̅̉͋̀̂̚͝͝r̸͎̫͖̞̋͆̎̀̈́̆͑̿̂̌͗̆͘͜ơ̶̧̘̯͓͔͉̣͖͙̮̠̮̂̐̾ͅd̴̞̗̝͈̟̮̮̠̲̬̟̘̩̘͛̈̂͊͆̃̉̎͑̆̀̕̚͠ų̸̛̛̭̠̻̜͍͖͚̼̙͙̭̙̘̋̀͊̾̀̒̚c̷̛̙̳̹̻͖̘̲̀͗̉͂̂̍͑̆̾t̶̡̢͇͖̝͇̥̠̺̘̗̫̘̎̇͒͌͛̏̿̃̍̍̀̕̚͜͝͝ͅ ̴̯̣̩̠͔̃̔ổ̶̡͈͎̘̙̰̯͊̉̽͒̌͆̚f̴̱̯̜͓̼͚͍̬̘͎̺̔̑̃̈́̀̿̐̊͆̽̒͌͌͜͝ ̶̙͑f̵̡̟͈̗̳̪̩̪̞̟̥̩̺̮̍̍̋̈̈͘͝a̴̭̻̖̮̺̘͖̒͌̏͋̃̏͐̊̽̓̌i̴̫̖̖̰̩̠̠̼͍͆͒̌̔͑̉̋́͋̏͋͂͘ͅl̸͎͈̟̿̑͐̃̌̏̊̃͐u̵̱̠̲̮̝̮͎̭̩̭̓̾͒̌̇͋̕͝r̷̢̜̺̲͙̪̠͌̃̀ͅę̷̧̛̤͇̝͇͇͈̤̘̳͗̑̓͛͘͠ that had no worth.

Ah, now that her life was fading, she could hear i̷͈̖̰̖̜̩͙̞̞̍͑́́͒̀ẗ̴͚͙̭͓̣̠̲̽͌̏͑̄͆͋̀͘͠͠, that ṿ̸͙̲̙͎̯͆͊͌̀̏̎̽̍̄͝ǒ̴̠͚̣̥̹̭͖̗̠̼̦̦̒̊͜i̸̛̠̦̦̺̦͖̗̟̾̒͊̆̓͋̎c̶̡͈͎͙̲̠̊̋̋̽̌̇̍̾̀̔̕͜͝͝ę̷̬̥̘̘͙̼̣̲̩͎̳̥̓̇̍͛͋̿ telling her over and over how ḏ̷͛͐̅̅͌̚͜͜͝ĭ̷̧̛̖͉͍͚͙̼̖̹̟̜̻̘̲̘͆̔͋̃̈́͝s̴̨̢̨̛̜̲̼̙̠̥̹̙͍̩̟̃́́̀̋̌̃̅̓̅̅̕̕͝ͅą̷̛͌̈́̃̌̈́̀͠ṕ̷̭̮̃̓͐̈́̅̋͌̊p̵̢̡̧̲͈̗͖̼̥̤̩̕͜o̶͍̍̅͊̎̉ḯ̷͓̼̤̯̱̝̦͔̓̅̄̔̔͐̅̀̎̈̆͛̕n̸̨̩͙̥̥̱̻̻͍̑̔̉ͅẗ̴̨̡̢̤͙̥͚̘͕͈́̏̑͘͠i̸̘̠̱͉̰̒n̸̨̛̥̦̱̘̩͈̯̈́̿́͛̊̔͂̏g̸̨̢̩̲͍̻͓̜͕͇̩̗̾͌̑̋̎̆̐̆̑͂́̐͘͜ she was.

Her life fading away, her left eye slashed, her throat a (lessened) bloody mess, the hexer had amounted to nothing.

Absolutely pathetic.

But... t̵͈̄̈́̀̽̍̏̄̃̈́̈́̚͠h̴̛͍̰̾̈́̋̒̊͐͑̿a̷̻̥̘̙͗̓̾́̋͑͂̈́̕t̷̨̻̹̰͒ ̸̢̬̠̣̝̞̰̲̿̓̾̓͂̆̌́̋͜w̷̦̮̰̲̯͙̜̻̭̻͎͂̔͆̃̚͘ă̸̩̥͈̱̫̺̤̟̱̙̗̦͋͆̀̂̔̊̌̿͜͝ͅs̸̘̝̓n̶̛̻̼͕͕̪̻̓̀̂̋̈́̈́͌͊͋̿͘͠'̴͉̣̤̬̮͎͉͚͚̩̳̬͈͒̑t̷̢̳͎̹͉̘͕̰̱̜̙̪̬͆̆̐͘ ̷̢̡͙̲̪̣̪̖̣̤̰͍͂̈ͅr̸̢̧͈̟͙̘̱̟̳͖̆̾̇̓̒̄̾̅͒̋͒̀̎̓͋i̸̢̖̥̦͇̰̰̐̂̒̿͛͊̈́̿͂͗͊́̕̕ͅǧ̷̝̮̲̉͗̔͊́͠h̴͍̮̯͍͓̆͐̔̒̔̕ͅţ̷̢̡̦̩̯̜͚̈́̍̈́̀. She... h̸̛̤͕̰͍̖̟̣̩̪̙͚͋̔̃̋͗́͌͋̇̀̂̎͋̊ͅâ̷̫̒͐͆͂͑̅͛͌̊̿̕̚d̴͙̭̑̒̏̋͠ something she had to do, didn't she?

Wrong. They were wrong. She wasn't w̴̡̛̻̹͕̩̗̦̗̥͉͔̯͓̟̋̈̀͒̾̎̓̈́͛͘ͅo̸̡̗̱̲͖̬̩̖̠̜̅͌̉̃͛͆̓̅̕͝r̷̖̺̽͛̌̏̈́̍̈́̿̽̈́̚t̴̨̡͖̜̯̖̺̯̲̠̪̥̄͒̉́̽̀̌h̶͇̼̿͂̓̐͆͐̔̌͋̈́͊l̸̢̛̦͇̲͙̥͐́͜e̷̳̼̯͕̐́̽̊̇̃̑͛̑̊̾͘s̷̢̭͙͍̬̝̳̹̫̈̉̈́̃̕͜ͅs̴̨̧̨̛̻̻̱̭̲͈̱̹̩̉̀.

She was going to prove them wrong.

Instead of her life becoming nothing, instead of her life completely disappearing...

Death itself began to fade away. She could do this. She wasn't dead yet, and she didn't plan to die.

She was going to get up. She was going to rejoin the fight again. She was going to show that stupid insect what death really felt like. She was going to clear the mission. She was going to get her guild recognition. She was going to earn that right to meet the chieftain. She was going to accomplish what she was sent to do. She was going to win. She was going to prove, once and for all, that she wasn't worthless. She was going to show her worth. She was going to succeed.

Ȃ̵̧̢͍̫̞͉̗͉̠̻̖̘̳̥̌̍͑ͅf̷̛͍̠̞̼̾̿̑̊̐̂́̽͜͝ͅt̸̡̺̩̗̞̙̬̤͖̯̙̹̯̒̔͝ḛ̵̩̝̾̚ͅͅr̷͔̝͈̗̪͓̘͕̈́̀͊̐̌̇̈͜͠ ̵͉̠͚͌͆͋̄̀̍͒͌̕a̴̧̭̟̤̠̼̘͇̪̭͋̆̉́̂̾̒͛̎͊̕͝l̷͉̟͉̤̞̼͉̦͖̾͆̾͊̓́̑̚͝͝l̴͔̪̟̱̤̯̯͕͕͍͍̤͚͆̾̄͒̎̏̅͑͆̅̔͆́̌̚͜ͅ.̸̢̜̦̥͇̰̹̫͌̽̓̽̍̌̐̍͋̓̇͛̚͠͝.̷̤̬̖͈̬̹͒͒̂.̴̡̤̣̲͖͉͙̤͌̉͒̂̎̓͘̕ͅ ̴̗̜̰̣͍̖̪̲͕̜̞̖̒I̴̧̬̗̘̭̲͙̤̤͒'̶̧̫͙̠͎̘̯͚̻̼̗̘̘͌̋̂ͅm̸̛̲̗̦̮̝̦̖̹̤̫͙͒͑̽̎̅͂̎͛̆̉̚̚͠ ̸̙̰͕̖͖̰̹̣̲̤͍̙̺̮̎̎͆̔̐́̍̍̏͆͒̈́̒͝͝t̶̛̮̓͂̏͗̈̀̉͒̽̈́̇͘͝͝h̸̨̗͖̭̼̳̻͍̅̈́̎̔́͊̍͊ͅe̸̖͌́̋͑͆̋͑͊̊̍̅̉̽̚͝ ̴͖̘̜͖̘̲̬̜̆̆̔͒̔͂͋͂͒̀̏c̴̢̝̤̜͍̦͎͕̼̬̙̞̹̉̌͜ͅh̷̻̘̜̩͑͑̇̍͌͆̔̂͛̃̂̂̚͝͝i̴̧̢͎͖͖̻͙̜̺͚͓̯͙̗̥͆̒̂̌̓̎l̴̢̛̛̲͇̲͚̣͚͆̈̈̍̇̆́̀͜ͅͅd̸̖̱̥̹̥͙̫̯̼͕͚͛͊̿̄̌̄̒͐͌͌̚̚͝͝ ̵̢̢̡̳̣̟͍̙̪̘͇͕͕́̔̕͝ơ̷͉̬̤̬̱͙̪̫̭̆̈́̑̏̂̆̈́̓͌̇͐f̴̞͕͇̱̳̫̩̖͖̩̤̘͛̿̐̋̓̒͐̉̈́̋͂̒̀ ̴̛̛̲̯͎̥̫̳̪͓͈̙͊̀͊̀̄̿̍̇̽͠͝ä̴̗͓̯͇̹̟̩̦̲̝͍̘̿͌̔͋̿̑̀́͘͠ ̷͍͚̈́͌̓͛̈́͊̌͘͜d̸͓̻̯̼̩͕͌̀ͅè̸̡̮̲̣̙̝̹̭̾̒͆̏͠v̵̨̩̟̦͔̀̀̅̆̕į̶̡̱̞͇̩̯̟̫̝̙͑̽̈́̀̕ͅl̷͖̹̠̻̱̠̊͑͋̏̈̅̀.̶̡̲̤̘͕̺͚͍͈͉̈́̅͌̒͜͠͝

"...n. ...mn."

Weakly, Remilia stirred. Her barely closed eyes, one bleeding slightly, opened again. Rin's eyes widened, and the medic had to hold herself back from smiling. "M-Ms. Remilia!" the girl cried.

"...Rin..." the hexer rasped.

From afar, Scarlet heard the orange haired girl's cry and almost let her guard down, only managing to block another blow from the Reaping Shade with her shield. "Rin! Is Remilia alright!?" she yelled.

"I, I think so!" the girl replied, before turning to see Remilia attempt to get up. "M-Ms. Remilia, wait! You're still - please don't push yourself!"

Valeria, who was struggling somewhat after cutting off four of the monster's six wings, grunted as one of the mantis' back legs managed to kick her straight in the stomach, sending her sprawling into some bushes. "Ackfththft!"

"Val!" Scarlet called, before gritting her teeth. "You stupid little - take this!" she said as she delivered some more slashes across the praying mantis' red skin. More insect blood spurted out, but gods, when will this thing just drop dead? It's been ear-splitting screeches after ear-splitting screeches, and honestly, her ears were actually starting to hurt.

"I-I'm alright!" the brunette's voice came from whatever bush she was behind.

Rin nodded and turned back to Remilia. "A-anyways, please take it easy, Ms. Remilia," the girl said, her voice wavering. "I, I'm still healing your neck... it, it was torn pretty badly, it's kind of... a, amazing that you're alive right now," she said. "B-but it's healing pretty well! So, p-please don't do anything that might worsen it - Scarlet and Valeria will handle it... I'm, I'm sure of it!"

Remilia stared up at the medic. It seems like she wouldn't be able to reenter the fight. What a waste. She couldn't do anything, not while she was under the medic's supervision, albeit the orange haired girl did make a fair point. Although... it still was irritating, this turn of events. The girl opened her mouth.

"...turn... me around," she rasped. "...watch... battle."

The medic blinked, her tears lessening, before she nodded. "A-alright." She supposed Remilia probably asked her because she wanted to watch her friends battle the monster, and that being the medic of the team, Rin probably knew how to move the hexer around safely, in a way that wouldn't get the girl to yell at the stoic hexer. So Rin did just that and granted her fallen leader's wish.

Eventually, Remilia was treated to a sideways observation of a four legged monster standing on the wall (ground), defying gravity, and having difficulties with her landsknechts. Although if this kept up for much longer, her binding shadowy tendrils might soon collapse and allow the cunning killer to turn the tides again.

It was... maybe around ten seconds left... no, maybe eight? Her left arm weakly reached towards the battling field.

Rin stared. Was the hexer simply yearning to fight? She supposed it was okay to let the girl hope for it, as long as she didn't try to get up again...

Remilia narrowed her eyes. Was it possible to do this without the medic noticing, to not possibly get yelled at more by her team? ...was that even important? Ah, whatever. The girl channeled her energy through her hands just as Rin turned back to the sight of her friends fighting the beast.

It seemed her dark aura forming didn't escape Rin's eyes, however, as in the corner of her vision the medic must've noticed something weird, and just as Remilia was reaching her completion, Rin turned back to her hand specifically to catch her right in the process of straining herself again. "Ah! M-Ms. Remilia!" the medic yelled.

Too late. Holding herself from smugly smiling again, the hexer released her power. She felt even better as she saw the Reaping Shade's binding vines began to disappear.

Scarlet, unaware of the hexer's second casting, saw the vines turning to dust and widened her eyes. "Shit!"

Similarly, the Reaping Shade felt its vines loosening and seemed to enter a state of pure sadistic glee, raising its scythe arm once more. It struck down at Scarlet, catching her off guard, sending the shield violently out of her grip and a far distance away. Before she could swear and embrace herself for death, however, a sword came out of nowhere to redirect its arm already preparing for a second strike, causing it to miss Scarlet and strike into the ground - Valeria almost forgot to breath, glad she acted in time to avert a second possible death.

And that's when Remilia's 'revenge' - sort of - was casted. Several new vines shot up the ground mercilessly, wrapping around the Reaping Shade, pinning its one arm down against its own body, and its legs crammed altogether. Unable to keep balance, it fell to the ground, caught by surprise.

Scarlet blinked - this binding skill was...! She turned to the resting Remilia, whose hands were just beginning to lose its glow. "R-Remilia, you..."

"D-don't push yourself!" Rin chastised, her words entering one ear and flying out the other. Remilia didn't really care that much anyways - she did what she wanted to do. The rest was up to them.

"Scarl!" Valeria yelled, bringing the redhead's attention back to the battle at hand.

The landsknecht saw that this time, the binding was tight, effective, and practically inescapable, that the Reaping Shade was actually visibly panicking and trying its best to struggle its way out of it's impending doom. Now the only opponent they had was time itself - they had to finish off this thing before the vines disappeared again.

Nodding to each other, Valeria and Scarlet prepared their swords and started hacking away at the mantis' uncovered spots, ignoring screeches after screeches.

Rin turned back to watch them do so, feeling that sense of dread fading away. At least, now, there was no mistaking it.

The battle was over. They did it - they were going to win.

What they had been tasked to do, this impossible and unreasonable mission they were given - it was about to be cleared.

The bloodied, one armed Reaping Shade... will soon be no more.


(11) The Bloody One-Arm attacks once every two turns, the other turn accomplishing nothing due to its weakened status. it only works as a game gimmick.