Chapter 30: Half-truths

"Let's follow them!" Azami breathed.

Yukino nodded in agreement, her face resolute. The mage quickly slid the door open and found dust and broken pieces of wood on the floor at her feet.

Azami found herself staring at a huge hole where a window used to be. Not too far off was the robed figure of a crimson-haired Ai with an unconscious Lei on her back. Wasting no time Azami sprung into action with Yukino trailing shortly behind her.

The two followed Ai relentlessly, their chase led them to a small clearing in the woods – with Lei lying limp on the ground. Yukino was about to approach him when Azami held her back. "Wait, it may be a trap." The alchemist-trainee doubled her guard, her technique required space, this place restricted her from moving too much. "Yukino, keep your eye open, she could strike from anywhere." came Azami's warning.

Yukino lifted her staff into the air, a bright ball of flame hovered around the staff's tip, illuminating the area. Suddenly something came falling down from the foliage above them. Azami instinctively lifted her sword upwards, a loud clang reached her ears when her blade met a bongun's claws.

"Puppets." Yukino breathed in an undertone.

The animated corpse began swinging it's claws in a wild frenzy, Azami effortlessly avoided the creature's blows. As it lunged forwards Azami brought down her blade on it's flesh, the moment the tempered steel met undead flesh it emitted an eerie white glow and the creature was reduced into dust.

Yukino cocked her head to the side, she stared at Azami with a befuddled look on her face. "How?" she asked.

Azami shifted into a defensive stance. "It's a hallowed Katana." she brought the blade in front of her defensively. "Damn, were surrounded." Azami breathed.

Yukino blinked. Bonguns everywhere! She barely noticed the figures hiding behind the shrubs around them. "I'm impressed, you tracked me even in a forest, at night even." came Ai's voice in a mocking tone.

"What did you do with Rae!" Azami said, her voice trembling with rage.

"There never was a Rae, a false identity, nothing more." was the cold reply.

Azami needed to keep the conversation going. It was impossible for Ai to maintain a hold on these zombies without spending mana, or at least she hoped her theory was right. "That can't be, we fought you in the school's auditorium!"

"Did you unmask me then? How sure are you it was me?"

"Who's your accomplice?"

"I'm not stupid enough to tell you that." she snapped back. "Finish them off." she said in a commanding voice.

The bongun's suddenly charged in, all of them bearing steel claws upon the two women. Yukino stepped in front of Azami and lifted her staff into the air, several orbs of white light embedded themselves into the nearest bongun they could find.

"Soul Strike…" Azami muttered in awe. Yukino grinned before launching another volley at the closest bonguns. The alchemist in training ran towards a group of five bonguns, she effortlessly sliced apart their limbs but with every bongun she defeated another two seemed to take its place.

"Yukino, how long can you hold up. Can you summon Luna?" Azami asked her friend in a desperate tone.

"Even if I do it'll be pointless, I haven't allowed her to feed in years, she doesn't have mana left." replied Yukino in a strained voice.

Yukino lifted her staff into the air forming runes with her hands. "Azami, let them come closer!"

"Are you mad!"

"I'm going to try something…" Yukino started reciting outlandish words Azami had never heard, around them the bonguns came closer. "Are you ready?" Azami asked in panic-stricken voice.

"No, stay calm."

Azami's eybrow arched upwards, how the hell could she be calm while allowing a few dozen bonguns to come close enough to take a swipe at her. "How about now?"

"No." Yukino replied irritably.

Azami steadied her sword in front of her as her back pressed against Yukino's. "They're going to kill us!" the alchemist-in-training whined.

"Duck!" Yukino shouted, Azami threw herself down on the ground as she watched balls of roaring fire flying in all directions. Yukino smiled sheepishly as she wiped the rivulets of sweat that had formed on her brow. "What the hell was that?" Azami asked in amazement.

"Sight Rasher, a wizard-class spell." Yukino said raising a finger into the air. "I read about it but wasn't sure if I could put theory into practice." she added with a content smile on her face. "You gambled our lives for an untested spell!" Azami exclaimed.

"Yes." she said with an embarrassed look on her face.

"it worked didn't—" Yukino fell down on both knees, as a burning sensation engulfed her body. Azami bent down placing a hand on the trembling girl's shoulders. "Mana-burn…" Yukino explained.

"Are you going to be alright?" Azami asked her friend in a hushed tone.

"Yes… Behind you!" Yukino threw herself on Azami, a small dagger embedded itself into the mage's shoulders. "I guess I have to do this myself." an angry looking Ai told her. Azami stood up shifting into an defensive stance. Ai pulled out twin daggers from her robes and quickly charged towards Azami.

"Die!" Ai cried out as her twin blades sang in the air.

Azami blocked the first dagger, the second she managed to swap away with her sheath – but only barely.

Her stamina was low from all the running she did to catch up with Ai. Ai on the other hand had time to recover while watching the pair take out the bonguns, the duel was clearly in the Kunlunese's favor.

Azami found it difficult to predict her opponents movements, and it was clear to her now, that this was a different Ai than the one she had faced before.