I blame college, sleep, Stardew Valley, and Graveyard Keeper.
--
Little Wing It
Volume 1
The Holy Light's Blessings On This Wonderful System!
Chapter 4
Kasch It In
--
I
--
"Look, Kasch markings!"
Liina exclaimed as she rushed towards a wall, Tonnio following her closely.
On the wall's surface was writing that was completely unfamiliar to me.
Liina was crouched down on the floor, examining the writing carefully. Me and Emilia followed them.
"What's up?"
Emilia asked. Seems like she's gotten aaccustomed to the two veteran mercenaries.
"We're heading in the right direction. The Kasch is in the rainforest."
Liina helpfully supplied.
Before we started our little journey, Tonnio and Linnia suggested that we go to the Kasch village to get a clue as to what's going on.
The Kasch are a nomad village, but they leave behind markings so their friends can always locate them.
The writing's normally unreadable for us non-Kasch, but lucky for us, Liina studied the language beforehand.
"So this is what these markings look like. Pretty cool, huh, Kara?"
My partner commented as she admired the strange writing.
Well, I guess they are a bit unique.
"So we're headed over there? Doesn't look like a part of Crodog very much..."
The area I mentioned has virtually no paved ways, and are mostly caves and trees, with some occational artificial lights.
Tonnio was the one to respond to my inquiry, and nodded to affirm my statement.
"Yeah, hasn't been much development there. The Kasch likes those kinda places."
Ah, geez, what a troublesome bunch.
Our destination set for the meantime, we prepared to head out.
But that was interrupted by a loud sound echoing from around us.
And no it wasn't Emilia.
It was more of a buzzing sound quickly approaching us.
"H-hey, what's that?"
Emilia shakingly asked while summoning her rod.
I didn't need to answer as a pair of Veggas, big, winged, insect-like creatures appeared from above us.
I quickly summoned my go-to saber-gun combo and entered a battle stance, Tonnio and Liina doing the same.
The Veggas kept spiraling above us and shot out lasers instead of attacking head-on, as I expected.
"Everybody, spread out!"
Tonnio shouted out and we dispersed, rollinv out of the way of the Vegga's ranged attacks.
Picking myself up, I aimed my gun at one Vegga as hard as I could and fired a couple of bullets.
A few managed to hit it, and it recoiled away to relative safety, the other one following it shortly.
Damn, if we could just hit them, this'd be over shortly. I'd need to think a bit.
Ah, wait!
These Veggas seem to be Earth-elemental so a well-placed electrical attack should do the trick!
"Emilia, can you-"
"[Razonde]!"
Yeah, do that.
Huh, she thought of doing that herself. Looks like our time spent doing those small missions paid off.
A loud, musical, electrical bang reverberated in the air as Emilia's Razonde hit both of the Veggas in one go.
From the smoke, two burnt and unmoving Veggas dropped out and crashed into the ground.
Well, that was anticlimactic.
"Good work!"
Tonnio complimented us as he walked towards us and dismissed his weapons, Liina following soon after.
"Yeah, you seem to be experienced enough! I don't know why you'd think you'll slow us down."
"Haha, well..."
I didn't know how to respond to Liina's statement there.
I looked over at Emilia. She seemed to be shocked, pun not intended, for a few seconds that her attack worked.
And then she dismissed her rod with a smug look on her face.
Yeah, I can't just tell them.
"Hey! Hey, Kara! Didja see that?"
"Yeah, good job."
For a second there, I thought I made a mistake complimenting her.
We really don't need a repeat of that De Ragan incident, after all.
But she just grinned at me and went on her merry way.
Guess I worried for nothing, then.
"To be honest, I was a little worried about hanging back a bit. But you guys seem to be able to take care of things."
Ah, really, there's no need for such praise.
I'd bet Emilia just got startled and used Razonde at random.
But looking at her, all smiles, there's no need for me to rain on her little parade.
"Hey, there are Kasch markings here too!"
Emilia called out to us, crouching down next to a rock that indeed had what appears to be Kasch writing.
And right in front of her was a fork in the road, with one of them blocked by a wall of fire.
... you know, one would usually notice the wall of fire first. Tonnio and Liina didn't seem to mind, though.
"Let me see... yep, these are in Kasch."
"What do they say, Liina?"
"Hmm... "We do not fear the flame. Fear will consume those who embrace it." That's what it says."
"Don't fear? Head towards the flame?"
Well, if that's what its says on the markings then.
The Kasch probably put that fire there so no one can find them. It must be a projection of some sort.
I walked towards the fire and slowly reached out my hand towards it.
Huh, it doesn't burn at all.
"Hey, it's not hot."
I walked past it without getting singed at the slightest.
Tonnio and Liina nodded at each other, smiling, and passed by the fire as well.
I feel like we're being secretly evaluated here...
"Um... Do I just walk through?"
"Yes, yes, you do, come on."
"Err... Okay."
Emilia followed soon after, timidly testing out the fire first with her hand.
Realizing that it's not hot at all, she made a quick leap through it over to our side.
"Hey, that's pretty cool!"
Not hard to please, are ya?
Well, whatever, that's one trap out of the way.
We started walking again but then I felt a presence watching us.
What was that?
I pretended not to notice and continued walking, but the presence seemed to be following us.
I don't know if Tonnio and Liina noticed or not, but if they did, they're probably doing the same thing as I am.
Then a quiet rustle in the trees, and the presence was gone.
Come to think of it, I felt like we were being watched as well when we first landed here.
Better watch our step.
--
II
--
"We fear... flower. All but purple... poison. Death... awaits."
Liina read the contents of the markings in broken fragments. It wad worn away so she probably can't make out all of them.
This was the fifth marking we had encountered on this journey.
It's probably been around an hour now. With all the walking, searching, and fighting hostile wildlife, I couldn't really keep track.
Every fork on the road had a marking and a trap. Thanks to Liina's ability to read Kasch, we were able to avoid the traps.
And each time we did, the presence would return, watch us for a few seconds, and then disappear.
Sometimes, I'd even manage to, for a split second, catch a glimpse of gold, slitted eyes.
At first, we didn't pay much heed to it. But with every successive trap we avoid, the presence becomes stronger, its time watching us increasingly.
I could see Tonnio and Linna becoming more wary as we went on.
"Purple flower? Hey, it's that one over there, right?"
Emilia doesn't seem to be noticing the presence, though, and she ran ahead towards said purple flower.
It leads to a path which is probably the correct one. All the other paths had orange flowers in front.
Just as Emilia reached what we assume to be the non-trapped path, the presence returned, its stare much more intense than the last time.
"Hey, wait up!"
Liina quickly followed the oblivious Emilia, leavinv me and Tonnio behind.
She must have noticed the presence too.
"Feel that?"
"Yeah..."
He asked me as soon as we were sure the others were out of earshot.
"They might be picking a fight, so be on guard."
I nodded at him, and he started walking towards the path the two girls took.
The presence seems to be gone for now, but if its behavior is any indication, we must be getting close to the village.
"Hmm... looks like we're closer than I thought."
That was Emilia's voice...
I turned the corner, and I saw a wall with Kasch markings on it, Emilia examining it, and a dumbfounded Tonnio and Liina.
I approached the examining one.
"Why'd you say so?"
"Hmm? Oh, I think this might be the last marking. It's different from the others. Look how detailed it us."
And Tonnio and Liina got even more dumbfounded.
... say what now?
"Y-you can read that?"
Liina shakingly asked out.
"Huh? Yeah, I was watching over your shoulder all this time..."
"So was I, but I can't read them yet!"
My silence was me sharing Tonnio's sentiments.
Did this girl just memorize an ancient language just from seeing a few markings?
What the heck?
I looked at her, and she had that face that didn't seem to think it was a big deal.
This is just like that time from the relic site! Who even is this girl?
"H-hey, why're you all looking at me like that? I thought everyone can read them. Hey, Kara, can you read it?"
"Yes, I can."
"Huh? Really?"
Of course not, you annoying girl!
"Um... then which way does it say we should go?"
"We find a friendly Kog Nadd and ride off to the sunset."
"... hey! You can't read it at all, can you?! That's not funny!"
"You're doing the same thing, you annoying girl! You're probably just making stuff up so we could get this over with!"
"I'm not! I really can read them!"
Tonnio and Liina watched our back-and-forth with unreadable expressions.
Please don't look at me like that, I'm losing the will to continue arguing!
"Look, it says we need to cross that bridge! Right, Liina?"
"Uh? Oh, y-yeah..."
And then she looked at me with an irritatingly smug expression, hands on her waist.
Ah, whatever, already.
"Fine, you win."
"Hmph!"
With a huff, she stomped ahead.
... are you a child?
"Hey, wa-"
I stopped.
It was the presence again.
Tonnio and Linna seemed to have noticed it too, judging by the expression on their faces.
But something was off. It felt different.
Before, it was just an intense feeling of being watched, almost like a cautious wild animal.
But now, it was so hostile. And it seemed to be waiting for us to make a move before it strikes.
"Hey, come on, let's go!"
You idiot...!
Before she cohld even finish her sentence, the presence shifted its attention to her and started moving.
And I started moving too.
"Watch it!"
"Ah, K-Kara?!"
Just like in the relic site, with no time to think, I pushed her away.
And a fast, photon arrow sailed past beside my ear and hit a tree trunk behind us, burning a clean hole through it.
... that was far too close.
Thankfully, there weren't any giant mechanical hands coming in to crush me.
Emilia seemed to be too shocked to register what happened and just stared at me from the ground.
"H-hey, you alright?!"
Tonnio and Liina came running over, searching frantically for our assailant.
"Yeah, we're good..."
I breathed out, my ears still ringing, relieved that we were safe, but worried about the fact that me or Emilia could have had an arrow on the head.
"Tonnio, over there!"
Liina pointed towards the bushes, and this time, we could see it clearly.
Holding a longbow, was a young, black-haired male with pointed ears, wearing strange, yellow and black clothing.
And he had the same gold, slitted eyes that was watching us.
The boy, who seemed to be half a head shorter than me, stepped out from the bushes.
"Stay where you are!"
He shouted out, his longbow's aim firmly placed on us.
However, his threat wasn't even finished yet when Tonnio started charging him, his claw weapon summoned on his right arm.
"You're mine!"
Tonnio leapt and pulled back his weapon, intending to strike at out assailant.
The boy looked off-guard before acting quickly and raised an arm in the air.
And big, red, pointed circles appeared on his back, and a giant armored creature, covered in red with an arm shaped like a hammer, appeared from behind him.
Don't tell me...!
The creature pulled back its hammer fist, covering it in flames, and punched.
With no way to dodge in midair, Tonnio could only cross his arms to defend.
And then a loud, fiery explosion filled the area.
--
III
"*cough*cough*! Emilia, where are you?!"
"R-right here!"
I called out to her, unable to see very well because of the smoke.
I managed to locate her and grabbed her hand and pulled her behind me. We can't be sure that the boy wouldn't attack again.
After a while, the smoke cleared and I could still see the boy, still eyeing us cautiously.
Right, what happened to Tonnio?
"*cough!* Huh, Liina...?"
That sounded like him!
A few meters away from the blast's center was Tonnio and Liina, slumoed down on the floor.
What a relief. Looks like Liina managed to push Tonnio away from the explosion radius, just barely.
"Come no closer! I won't let you harm my village!"
Village? Ah, so he's a Kasch. In hindsight, I should have figured that out earlier.
But still, the attack he displayed earlier...
That was definitely a Mirage Blast.
As a beast, I can't do the same, but since this boy was able to, he must be a Newman. His pointed ears confirm that fact.
"What's his problem?"
"Did something happen to your village?"
Liina shushed Tonnio, who was miffed about almost being blown up, and asked the Kasch boy, aiming to diffuse the situation.
"What do you care?! My family, my village- I'll protect them! I won't let you harm us!"
And then he leapt at the two, spear drawn. Great, no diffusing then.
I looked back at Emilia. She still seems to be shaken up by almost being arrowed.
"Hey, just hide here for now. No need to force yourself."
I'm not gonna gain anything from being needlessly cruel and forcing her to fight.
And she's not gonna be able to contribute much in this state, anyway.
I was about to head on and assist Tonnio and Liina but I felt my sleeve being tugged at.
"N-no, I can help! I'll support, you lead!"
I was about to refuse but I saw a determined look on her eyes. Ah, whatever. I'll just have to do my best to protect her.
As always. Heh.
"Alright. Let's go."
We exchanged nods and then we ran at the Kasch boy.
Surprisingly, he was able to keep up with Tonnio and Liina, despite being outnumbered.
He's very proficient with his spear, which gives him an advantage against the shorter range of Tonnio's claws and Liina's daggers.
I have to be wary of that too.
I summoned my saber and shield, opting to play defensively. I set them to stun instead of kill.
The Kasch boy stabbed at the ground, causing Tonnio and Liina to jump away and give me an opening.
I slashed down, and he dodged by dismissing his spear and jumping backwards.
He summoned his longbow again, shooting at me with weaker but faster shots.
I blocked with my shield, but due to me being in mid-air, I was pushed back by a bit by the force.
"[Zonde]!"
A small bolt of electricity shot from Emilia's rod and flew towards the Kasch boy.
He quickly dismissed his longbow and summined his spear yet again, attempting to at least lessen the damage of the blast.
A fairly strong bang flung him back towards the ground, where Tonnio charged at him with twin claws.
Kasch boy managed to parry Tonnio's attacks effectively, but was forced to retreat when Liina unleashed a flurrt of quick shots using a pair of handguns.
Tonnio gave him no chance however, and continued his assault.
"Got you now!"
"Kuh!"
Tonnio managed to open up his guard with a double uppercut, following with a kick to the side.
"Not yet!"
He stabbed his spear on the ground, using it as a pivot, and spun himself on his makeshift pole and returned Tonnio's kick, spinning drop-kick style.
"Gah!"
"Tonnio!"
Tonnio was sent flying, and Liina hurried after him to check.
Kasch boy reentered his battle stance, fighting four opponents at once taking a massive toll, evidenced by his heavy breathing.
But he doesn't seem to be done yet.
I ran forward and slashed at him repeatedly, parrying with his spear.
He managed to get a few strikes in return, which I had to block with my shield.
We exchanged a few more strikes, before he stabbed at me, forcing me to block and get pushed away.
He stabbed his spear on the ground to support himself, looking very gassed and breathing heavily.
"Not... bad, outsider. But I won't stop! You can't harm my family!"
Who even said anything about doing that?
But we have to stop soon. If he pushes himself further, he'll collapse.
"Look, kid, we're not here to fight. Just stand down."
"You're lying! You're with the others!"
What others?
Huh, maybe I should I have used a less threatening tone.
No time for that now, though.
He picked himself up and charged at me with his spear.
"[Zonde]!"
A bolt of electricity halted his assault, though.
He jumped back but he was met by Tonnio and Liina on both sides, twin weapons drawn.
Surprisingly, he was able to angle his spear in a way to just barely block both attacks, but the momentum sent him flying.
"Got you! [Razonde]!"
Emilia cast her spell, and a large lightning bolt fell down on the Kasch boy.
In a last ditch attempt, he spun his spear to block the Razonde.
A loud bang followed.
From the smoke, his spear was flung back, dropping on the ground a few meters away.
Chance...!
I rushed at him, hoping to quickly end the fight.
He looked startled and made an attempt to get away.
No, this needs to end!
"Sorry."
I muttered out quickly, and before he was able to look confused about it, I rammed my shield at him.
He was flung back yet again and landed roughly on the ground a good distance away.
He didn't get up.
I dismissed my weapons and breathed out a sigh of relief and tiredness. I heard the others' footsteps approaching me.
"Did you have to bash him? You're brutal, Kara."
"Ah, shush. He was pushing himself too hard. I needed to end it fast."
I answered my partner, who seemed to be back to her usual self, thankfully.
She shrugged and went to examine the knocked out Kasch boy.
"Ah, it's over. Good job!"
"Things always have to end the hard way, doesn't it?"
Tonnio complained lightly, holding the spot where the Kasch boy kicked him, Liina supporting him.
"He's a Kasch? But he looks just like us..."
Emilia inquired from over where said Kasch was knocked out.
Stop poking him with a stick, please.
"The Kasch aren't a different race, but they live by the old ways. Their culture's different from ours. Take that Mirage Blast earlier, for example. It was originally a Kasch ability but recent technology allows humans and newmans to emulate them."
"But due to researchers, our cultures cross paths often, causing some to even learn our language, like this kid here."
Emilia made an "Ahhh" face and nodded to show her understanding of the Rhimas' explanation.
"Zzz..."
Wait, is that boy snoring? Ah, really, some people...
Well, whatever, we have bigger problems right now.
"What do we do with the kid? I'm a little worried about the village..."
I voiced out my concerns, causing Tonnio and Liina o contemplate for a while.
"True. If his behavior's any guide, something's definitely wrong with the village."
"We better split up then. You two go on ahead. We'll take the boy back and patch him up."
"Wait, wait, wait, shouldn't it be the other way around?"
Emilia stood up and complained about Tonnio's decision.
Don't embarass us, partner.
"Our ship doesn't have medical facilities, you lazy girl."
"Ugh..."
"Your partner's right, you know. Don't worry, we'll catch up soon."
Tonnio and Liina worked together to lift up the sleeping Kasch boy, putting him on the stronger Tonnio's back.
"Good luck!"
"Uh... Must... Protect... mmm."
This kid's very determined.
Ignoring the sleeping boy's mumblings, Tonnio and Liina turned towards us and nodded, before setting out to backtrack.
"Ugh... there goes half our firepower. How encouraging..."
I chose to ignore Emilia's sarcastic complaints and started walking towards the other direction.
"Everytime I try to get out of combat detail, I get pulled back in! Everytime!"
"Ah, shut up. We're almost there so stop complaining!"
"Blegh!"
A child! My partner's a child...!
--
IV
"Hurry up! We're almost at the village!"
This girl was complaining earlier, why's she so enthusiastic now?!
I trudged along the uneven ground, making my way to where my parnter rushed to.
After Tonnio and Liina left to treat the Kasch kid, me and Emilia had to make our way to the vilage ourselves.
It was a pretty uneventful trip. There weren't any more markings and besises the couple hostiles here and there, the journey was relatively smooth.
Which kinda makes sense for this partner of mine to be in such a pleasant mood.
"Alright, alright, hang on."
"Come on, Kara, I wanna go back as soon as possible!"
Ah, so that's it.
Well, at least she wants to finish the mission.
Wait, that reminds me. Our mission isn't to check out the Kasch village. It's to find this Wurley guy.
"There's no guarantee Wurley Kokov's in the village, you know."
"Ah, don't worry, I'm sure he's there!"
What irresponsible thinking!
Whatever. If he's not there, we can at least check out what the Kasch boy was talking about.
We can't exactly ask the Kasch about Wurley if they're being attacked.
"Hey, stop standing around there an- Woah!"
Emilia wasn't even finished talking when the ground started to shake!
I managed to grab her arm to prevent her fall, and I struggled to keep my balance myself.
Thankfully, the shaking stopped after a while.
"W-what was that?! I don't think that was a natural earthquake!"
She's right. We'll have to be on guard.
We started walking again, and after reaching a good distance away from where we first were, the ground started shaking again.
Though, since we were a little ready for it, we managed to stay on our feet.
Then suddenly, a large, electricity-covered, rhino-like creature with a rock-like face burst out of the bushes.
And it looked just about ready to trample us!
"Run!"
"Hyaaaaah!"
We managed to get out of the way of its charge, but that was close! Too close!
The rhino, which I noticed to be a Bag Degga, continued its electrified charge and violently crashed into a big boulder, instantly pulverzing it.
Thinking that we could have suffered the same fate is enough to send shivers down my spine.
"K-Kara, what do we d-do?!"
"Hold on, I'm thinking!"
Though I said that, I'm at blank as to what to do.
Bag Deggas have extremely tough defense, especially on their front. And they can release electricity from their bodies.
When it charges, there's no way to outrun it. Thankfully, it can only charge in a roughly straight line.
Another thing of note is that their absolute defense doesn't extend to their backside.
The problem is HOW to hit the backside.
I can't send Emilia to distract it. There's no guarantee she'll be able to avoid a charge.
And if she gets hit, it's not gonna get pretty.
"It's coming again, let's go!"
I grabber her arm again and ran out of the way, the Bag Degga violently passing by our previous location and smashing some unlucky trees.
Now while it's distracted!
I quickly summoned my handgun and fired away at its exposed back.
And the bullets bounced off its tough skin harmlessly.
Great, even with the lesser defense, ranged attacks just aren't gonna cut it.
"S-should I try a Tech?"
"No, electric attacks aren't gonna do squat."
"Hey, I have other Techs, you know!"
Ah, that's right, If I remember correctly, she was able to use Rabarta and Resta.
We didn't get a chance, though, as the Bag Degga recovered from its crash and turned its attention back at us.
"Get ready to dodge!"
"R-right!"
After a few moments, the Bag Degga charged yet again, and at the last comfortable second, we leapt out of its trajectory.
I thought about attacking it but I decided against it. I just don't have any heavy enough weapons on me.
We're gonna have to use Techs.
"Emilia, Techs, please."
"O-okay!"
She readied her rod and raised it up in the air, familiar photon energy swirling at its tip.
Her rod glowed brightly after a short while, and she pointed it at the Bag Degga, which crashed into more boulders.
"[Rafoie]!"
Before it could turn around, a big blast of fire exploded on its back, the force pushing it away slightly.
"I did it!"
It caused quite a bit of damage, but it looks like it's gotten mad!
The Bag Degga roared loudly and began charging at us yet again.
We were able to dodge again, but this forested area is quickly becoming a clearing!
I set my handgun to power mode, and I held the trigger button in place, building up a charge shot.
Before the Bag Degga turned around, I released the trigger, and a bigger energy bullet fired out of the barrel.
It hit the rhino's back and exploded, weaker than the Rafoie but still quite poweful.
"[Rabarta]!"
A blast of icy wind hit its exposed back, and exploded in cold burst.
When the mist cleared, the Bag Degga was still in the same place, trashing around but still stationary.
Its legs were frozen.
Now's my chance...!
I summomed my saber and re-set it to kill, and I gripped it with both hands as I leapt at the frozen rhino.
I raised it up, and slashed. And I slashed again. And again.
With every slash, the Bag Degga roared out in pain.
But as I readied myself for another attack, the Bag Degga roared into the skies.
And that was when I realized I made a mistake.
Large streams of electricity burst out of its body and quickly moved in to assault me.
I quickly summoned my shield and blocked as best as I could.
I felt my feet lifted off the ground, and soon after, a sharp pain in my entire back.
Looks like I was able to avoid the worst of the shock but I got blasted away and crashed into a tree.
"Kara!"
I heard Emilia's worried call as she ran towards me.
No, don't...!
"Huh? A-ah, Waahh!"
Even with her before me, I could see the Bag Degga charging towards us. The blast swimmingly freeing it from its icy imprisonment.
"Emilia, get away, now!"
"No, don't be stupid, you'll die!"
"If you don't, you'll die too!"
"I don't care!"
You stupid...!
I tried to force myself to stand but my injury prevented me from doing so, and I don't think we had enough time for a Resta!
Damn it, I can't let us both die here! I have to push even harder!
Just when the Bag Degga turned us into roadkill, I suddenly felt light.
The next thing I know, I had Emilia in my arms a good distance away, and the giant creature had smashed the trees where we were earlier.
W-what happened...?
The pain was still there, but I could at least move now.
"K-Kara...! Your eyes...!"
"My eyes? What about them?"
"They're bright crimson! Just like Red's!"
I looked at my partner in confusion. My eyes have always been a red hue, but if Emilia felt the need to point it out, there must have been some kind of change.
Well, it's not like I can go ahead and check.
I briefly wondered if it has anything to do with us avoiding the fatal blow.
But, no time to think about it now! The Bag Degga looks like it's just about ready to charge us again!
After making sure she could stand, I put Emilia down and raised my guard.
The Bag Degga moved away and it revealed a deep cliff behind the wrecked trees.
"Wait, that's it...! Emilia, stay back, I have a plan."
"H-huh? You sure? Um, okay..."
I brought out my handgun again and unloaded a round on the Bag Degga's face, catching its attention, and then I ran.
I don't have any idea whatsoever happened earlier but I feel much lighter! It feels like I'm running twice as fast!
Before long, I was behind the Bag Degga, watching it turn slowly. Just behind me was the cliff.
You can probably guess what I'm planning now.
I raised my guard and stared into its eyes as the giant creature started charging at me.
Closer! Just a little closer!
Just when it was an arm's length from me, I jumped up, much higher than I ever had!
However, the Bag Degga slammed its forelegs down and braked.
It then roared out and began charging up an electric blast.
Crap, from where I am, I couldn't possibly dodge!
Just as the lightning bolt seemed about ready to fire off, I heard a swirl of fire and a familiar voice.
"[Rafoie]!"
Right before the Bag Degga released its attack, a fiery explosion engulfed it from behind.
A loud, electrical roar was the last I heard of it as it fell down into the abyss.
--
V
--
As soon as I was sure that there were no more immediate threats in our vicinity, I plopped back down on the ground. My injuries and fatigue are still very much present.
"Kara! Are you alright!?"
Emilia came jogging over to me almost immediately.
Well, I suppose I should thank her. Things would have gotten really messy if she didn't cast that Rafoie.
"Hey."
"Don't "hey" me! Look at yourself! Ugh, whatever. [Resta]!"
The familiar soothing aura enveloped me as Emilia's Tech worked its magic and healed me. It won't mend all of my injuries, but it'll still help.
That encounter was too close. Much too close.
"Ah, that feels better... uh, thanks."
"Don't mention it. Healing you is practically my job now."
"No, I meant blasting the rhino earlier. That almost got me."
As soon as my words entered my partner's ears, a smile began forming on her face.
But as quick as it came, it morphed into an irritated frown.
"Oh, it would have more than get you, you know!? I wish you would stop pulling stunts like that!"
"Sorry about that. I miscalculated."
"And it's not just that, either! What was that about me leaving you on that thing's path!?"
What did this girl want me to do? I couldn't move, at all. It was really a miracle that I'm still breathing right now.
But she doesn't have that excuse.
"I was immobilized. Weren't you the one who ignored my orders and didn't get out of the way?"
Emilia's face heated up in embarrassment, whether from embarrassment or something else entirely, I have no idea.
She stammered a bit, before she straightened herself out and resumed healing me, averting her gaze.
"... that was different."
"Right."
"I'm serious! Did you really think I was just gonna leave you there?"
In all honesty, not really.
But there was no way she could have gotten me away in time. She's not strong enough to carry me, and Resta wouldn't have had enough time.
By logic, it's better she survive and me, hopefully just crippled for life.
But I guess, I didn't think about her feelings. Despite the job description, she's not a mercenary at all. Just a sheltered, innocent girl, unwilling to lose one of her few friends.
Thinking about that, guilt flowed within my chest. That was a really insensitive move I did, but there really was no choice.
"... Sorry."
Seeing me apologize and mean it, Emilia flashed a gentle smile at me.
"Just don't do it again, okay? You're my partner and friend, Kara."
...friends, huh?
Well, I guess we are. Despite her annoying tendencies, that doesn't seem bad at all.
"And besides! If you died, there won't be any one to do half my work for me anymore!"
"You little... Ah, nevermind."
"Hee-hee! Well, you're all set now! Come on!"
With me sufficiently healed enough to walk, she hurried off towards the supposed direction of the Kasch village.
Leave the injured friend, why don't you, you troublesome girl?
ooo000ooo
After a while, I managed to catch up to Emilia. Fortunately, there weren't any more hostiles along the way.
Upon spotting me, she gave off a cross look and put her hands on her hips.
"About time!"
"Well, excuse me... Not like I was hurt or anything..."
"Wait, nevermind that, doesn't the air seem a little... thick?"
Ignoring my partner ignoring my complaint, I moved forward.
She was right, breathing was becoming a little harder, and the air was a shade of gray.
The realization hit me like a truck instantly after, Emilia seemingly noticing too.
"It's smoke! The village!"
I ran ahead to the source of the smoke, and after a short while, we found out what it was.
Fire.
The entire village was burning.
"Wha- Who did this...? And why?"
Emilia looked more than a little shocked upon seeing the inferno before us.
Our intuition was correct. The village was in danger. But we were too late.
Thankfully, there weren't any visible Kasch amongst the burning wreckage.
"I have what I am looking for. I have no more need for you. Leave."
Before the sentence was over, I was already dragging the stunned Emilia into a big enough boulder to hide behind.
Who was that? It was a deep, masculine voice, surrounded by a lot of footsteps.
I took a quick peek, and I spotted a vaguely familiar tall, silver pineapple leave shaped-haired man, fully dressed in black and holding a strange, red tablet.
The group hasn't noticed us, it seems, as they began to disperse.
Wait, there was someone there who looked much more familiar!
"That's Wurley Kokov!"
I silently exclaimed, enough for my partner to hear me, but not enough to alert the sinister group.
I received no response, however, and upon turning to where she was supposed to be, I found out why.
"Hey! You're the one who started this fire, aren't you?!"
Immediately after I noticed her absence, a loud accusation accompanied the sound of the flames torching the Kasch village.
Shockingly, I'm not even surprised. I just let out a sigh and began moving towards my problematic partner.
"And if I was?"
Well, that emo guy certainly has no plans on defending himself.
That simple display of arrogance staggered Emilia a bit.
"Uh..."
"What are you gonna do about it? Defy me with your weak, mortal flesh?"
"Um...?"
Okay, weird. Even the blonde weirdo I call my partner got weirded out. What the heck was that supposed to mean?
If he noticed that I was now beside my partner, then either he didn't care or he's just ticked at our confused stares.
I'd bet 100 meseta it's the latter.
"Tsk. Whatever. You are witnesses. Prepare to be eliminated."
Woah, woah, woah, this is turning into dangerous territory, real fast!
"Keep sharp!"
I shouted out at Emilia, who nodded and summoned her rod. I did the same with my, saber and shield.
Against an unknown opponent, it's best to play defensive, first!
"Futile."
Before we were able to process what pinehat said, he was already in front of us, apparently having leapt the entire distance.
"Oh, shi-!"
I raised my shield up as fast as I could, and I wad rewarded by the world around me spontaneously speeding up.
One second later, I realized I was sent flying by an insanely powerful kick.
"Kara!"
Rolling around across the ground like a thrown doll was certainly not what I ordered today!
I stopped myself, with great difficulty, and looked up to find out I was thrown away an absurd distance away.
Just who the hell is this guy?
I summoned my handgun next, unleashing a furious round on the man before he could target Emilia.
The bullets hit their mark, but I might have well been shooting at a wall!
"Nuisance. Begone."
And he leapt at me again at terrifying speeds.
At that point, I couldn't process anything at all as soon as our assailant rocketed towards me.
"Kara, get out of there!"
Emilia's frantic warning was the last thing I heard before everything faded to black, yet again.