Her lungs burned, yet she sucked in another breath. Channeling energy to her arms, she swung her blade. It grazed her target, taking off a piece of purplish cloth. But she failed to draw blood.
Relius Clover, despite his outward appearance, dodged the attacks with tremendous agility. Sorcery amplified his movements along with the doll's as well.
At first, the man had used short-range teleportation spells to escape. But his tricks did not evade her sensors. Keeping his coordinates on lockdown, she had given chase. One spot after another, she followed him until he decided to stop running away.
A loud clang of iron reverberated as she repelled the Detonator's swipe. The doll disturbed the muddy water as it jumped back to its master's side. At one point during the pursuit, they ended up beneath a vast brick tunnel.
Chest heaving, he reset the position of his cape with a sweeping motion. "Impressive…I couldn't expect any less from the legendary ars armegis. However, it appears you are nearing the limit of your stamina." A derisive smirk raised the corner of his lips. "One should be attentive to their own condition, especially after a 'Dive'."
"Khh…" Her sword, normally like an extension of her limbs, now sat heavy in her grip. "Enough with your self-serving commentary."
He played deaf. "Now what did they call beings like us again…? Ah, yes. 'Strangers', how aptly named. Then again, I suppose those terms don't exist in this peculiar world. Which makes me wonder which continuum spawned an existence such as yours."
"..." Listening to him only confirmed to her that his epithet of 'Mad Puppeteer' fitted him to a tee. Yet the man had been correct, and she could feel it all too well. Her attacks no longer had their former potency. The automaton made itself into a near-perfect shield by standing before Relius. To pierce through it and reach the man in a single strike would give her the best chance at taking him out with what strength she had left.
Steeling herself, she mustered what she could past her baseline limiters. "I shall not back down! Not now!" Speed and finesse alone would no longer suffice, only brute force. With her hands tightening around the handle of her blade, a strong light began to gather as she raised it.
His mask failed to hide his rapidly fading interest. "I see that you insist on continuing. This is turning into a stale waste of time and energy."
She brought the full weight of her weapon down. A blinding flash engulfed the area as it unleashed the full force of the power stockpiled inside.
Once the noise echoing from the blast died, she felt herself give in to exhaustion. "I was reckless… Damn it…!" Falling on one knee, she remained there. Relius had made his escape, but her body could not move to hunt him.
Letting time pass, she focused on the steady dripping sound coming from the surface. "…" The familiar pattern of rainfall getting louder brought her out of her sleep-like state.
Before more of the rainwater seeped between the brickworks, she stood up. After flicking away the debris on her blade, she returned it to its sheath attached to her back. In front of her, the shape of the terrain had been completely changed. All the water on the ground had been expelled out, some pooling to the bottom of the wide ditch created.
Far ahead, the heavy rain formed a veil at the exit.
Once she stepped outside, she let the downpour wash the muck off her skin and armor. "Hah…" Body feeling refreshed, her spirit was also reinvigorated. As always, she would continue to uphold her duty to punish the wicked and cut evil at its root. No number of setbacks could ever discourage her.
But before resuming her mission, she needed to get her bearings. During her chase after the man, her sensors ignored where they were headed. It had not mattered at the moment.
One short glance around, and she saw that she currently stood inside a Hierarchical City. As for which one, she needed a vantage point to get a better view.
Leaving the tunnel forming part of the base for a bridge, she jumped up to the main road. In the dead of the night, accompanied by a rainstorm, not a single soul caught a glimpse of her walking down the streets.
Higher and higher she climbed, until she landed on top of a tall structure.
In the upper sections of the city, a sprawling view presented itself. It had more complex architecture than the previous district, with open green spaces sitting next to ornate buildings. In every corner, banners and flags decorated the place. The distinctive crest marked the area under the Novus Orbis Librarium's jurisdiction. Raindrops fell on her unblinking eyes, yet the water did not obstruct her vision. She turned around to observe the main headquarters building, the centerpiece of this place.
Right at that moment, she felt a tremor in her chest.
Like a ghost, an echo of her past walked down one of its halls. It then stopped, its back facing the windows and unaware of her presence.
A strange sensation reached her insides, tugging on the threads of her very being to a discomforting degree. "Of all things…" Before she endured any more of this, she leapt to another building. This Phantom Field had given her plenty of distractions already.
After some scouting, she gained a much clearer understanding of her current location—the twelfth Hierarchical City of Kukunochi, an administrative base of operations for the Librarium in the Izumo region. Knowing that made tracing back her steps a straightforward matter. She narrowed her eyes, searching for the faint outline of another city on the horizon.
The second she set a foot forward, a flower petal fluttered from the sky. Its deep color drew her attention. Before long, the scent of roses reached her through the rain and sounds of wet footsteps appeared behind her.
"Fancy meeting you again, Tokiwa." Her voice traveled to her ears with unnatural clarity. "My, you look worse for wear. Your restlessness will be your downfall."
"Rachel Alucard, are you still in search of what you believe to have lost? Perhaps one day you will tire of that quest," she responded in kind.
Standing across the other end of the rooftop was the ageless vampire herself, protected from the weather by an umbrella-shaped creature. She batted her eyes, contemplating something for a second. "If you mean to mock me, then perish the thought. The commotion caused by your little tiff with someone simply made me curious about the happenings."
"So you came sniffing for clues. It's no use hiding your true intention behind a fanciful reasoning." Not wishing to entertain the former Observer any longer, she walked away.
The growing distance did not cover up Rachel's whispered words. "I will find it. I have to…"
"…Is that so?" The image of the man she had fought in Kagutsuchi floated up. His dark aura left an unforgettable impression, refueling an old spark. It reminded her of the uncontrolled, volatile powers that led her to begin this endless mission.
In spite of that, her focus had swayed when Relius Clover showed himself. The hear-say about the man rang true. He could vanish from the face of the planet, reappearing in another time and space seemingly at will. A slippery entity like him posed a more insidious threat than a brash, incomplete monster. Those that sought to shape the world to their will were irredeemably evil.
Being put back to square one, she needed to find the ones who helped send her down this path. The threads keeping this reality together had to be further investigated.
Author's Note: Do you remember the first chapter?
Anyhow, the story is fairly straightforward from now on in terms of the time frame (with a few exceptions, but they won't be set far apart/jump back and forth like some chapters before). As always, I really appreciate anyone who has read this far!