A Flame Amidst Darkness

Hunt

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things you have long forgotten; things that require a smaller, more honest soul."

It hadn't taken long for Laphicet to start marveling at the sights this new world offered.

The young malak was worried about Velvet and the others, of course. But they were strong, he reasoned. He was certain each and every one of them would manage; he just had to do the same, and surely someday they would all be reunited. Hopefully sooner rather than later. He missed them already. Especially...

"A world without you, Velvet... is the one thing I couldn't bear!"

He couldn't help but blush a little at the memory. Back then, the words had rushed out without thinking, but now... Ugh! Why did he say it like that? What must she be thinking about him now? Well, it all worked out in the end, so it was all good. Probably. Still embarrassing, though.

But those thoughts had been quickly driven away once he had noticed the broken moon. Another world! He had read a few books on distant lands and had been an avid listener whenever Eizen had talked about his travels, but this was entirely new. Everything seemed different; he couldn't see any of the constellations Eizen had taught him to recognize, the trees of the forest he was in were considerably taller than anything he had seen before, and even the birds sounded completely different!

It was hard to not let his excitement take over and to start exploring at once, but he managed to reign it in, at least for a time. He finished the night atop a tree branch and began walking at sunrise, not quite well-rested (the comfort of his night camp had let a lot to be desired, but it was better than being attacked by a wild animal), yet still plenty enthusiastic to learn more about this place.

Also, he was definitely coming back here bug hunting with the others.

He walked through the woods most of the day, trying not to get too distracted by the raw newness of it all. Being alone for the first time in his life was a little scary, but he could do it! Eizen words echoed in his head. "You have to take control of your own wheel", right? So what if he was only ten years old, and had only started to think for himself a few months ago? That didn't mean he couldn't be responsible!

His choice to inspect those weird-looking mushrooms that he had never seen before was proof of that. He had to make sure they were edible if the need were to arise. It was also responsible to check to see if he could find any strange bugs on them. It was an important scholarly task, finding out what kind of creatures lived here, and not at all a childish curiosity.

And then that giant snake had appeared, and he couldn't've helped but to think that he would've rather not found any local fauna at all.

The daemon-like beast was huge, easily dwarfing him in size by several orders of magnitude. Even stranger, it seemed to have a second head where its tail should have been, its pale white color contrasting with the deep black of the first head. Both sported glowing red eyes, more fangs than any snake should ever have, and as a whole radiated the distinct and familiar sensation of malevolence that gave Phi goosebumps.

A part of his mind wondered how having two heads could work; whether they were both equally intelligent, and how having two heads affected mobility. The rest of him nervously readied his spirit-infused talismans, the pieces of paper flying all around him to form a protective barrier. Just in time to repel a first charge when the black head bashed itself against the magical forcefield, sending Laphicet stumbling upon the impact.

This was bad, he instantly realized. In his months of travel, he had managed to pull his weight alongside the others. But he was never meant to fight on the frontline, and certainly not alone. The group as a whole had a well-oiled formation despite the apparent chaos they displayed on the battlefield. Velvet and Rokurou would charge forward, tearing apart everything in their way; Eizen and Eleanor would support them either from up close with their weapons or from far away with long-range artes, depending on how the battle was going; and he and Magilou would stand back and rain spells down upon the enemy from afar. Moments when he had to face enemies up close were rare, and it would never be long until someone came to his rescue – Velvet or Eleanor being the most likely ones to jump between him and any foe.

That wouldn't happen here. Phi was alone, against something that didn't seem likely to give him time to cast his more complex spells. The young malak jumped back to avoid being surrounded by the snake's massive body, and the black head followed, the white one simply watching him for now, as if waiting for an opportunity. In this case, he'd have to rely on simpler artes.

"Triflare!"

On his command, three talismans flew toward the charging reptile before bursting in flames, making the monster recoil in surprise more than pain. Trying to capitalize on this moment, he sent several more pieces of paper flying with a gesture of his hand, this time targeting the beast's belly.

"Frigid Pillar!"

The ground under the giant snake froze, encasing part of his body in ice. Phi's hope that such a move would slow it down was quickly dashed however, when the monster thrashed its body and effortlessly broke the restraining ice before charging once more. Phi prepared to counter once again, but the monster proved surprisingly intelligent, having learned from the previous exchange. Instead of charging head-first into his barrier, it darted on the side at the last moment before slamming the back of its neck into the young malak, attempting to trap him under its body.

Laphicet managed to desperately avoid most of the snake's mass, merely being sent flying several meters away rather than being outright crushed by several tons of malevolence. Phi managed to hold back tears of pain. It hurt! Not only was being slammed on the ground by something that was half the size of the Van Eltia was painful, but his skin burned wherever he had been in contact with the monster. This was worse than a daemon, Phi realized with horror. That thing didn't just generate malevolence, it seemed as if its whole body was made of it.

Meaning if he got hit just a few more times, or even stood too close for too long...

Phi clenched his fists, trying to ignore the pain. He was not turning into a dragon here! He was going to reunite with Velvet, Eleanor and the others! As if sensing his resolve, six talismans flew forward, surrounding the snake's main head.

"Spring forth!"

Each piece of paper exploded into a ball of pure light, blinding the monster long enough for him to prepare for what he hoped to be the finishing blow.

"Spirits Release!"

Paper scattered all around him, forming two rings of chains made of pure light, calling forth as many spirits as he dared to use at once before beginning his chant.

"I will bring order to those who wronged me!"

As if sensing the danger, the monster attempted to move, only for the conjured chains to wrap around its neck, forcibly holding it place.

"Here's your justice! Binding Order!"

The monster squirmed as it felt the chains tightening all around him before exploding in a torrent of power. To Laphicet's relief, that seemed to do the trick; the spell had literally decapitated the snake, what was left of its head falling several paces away. The malak tried his best not to wince at the sight, reminding himself that his time with Velvet and the others had come with quite a few gruesome moments as well.

He only remembered the second head when he saw a white blur darting straight at him, apparently proving that yes, the two heads could operate independently. Phi desperately tried to summon a protective barrier, but his previous attack had taken its toll. His gestures were slow; too slow, he realized with dread, as the monster's open maw came closer and closer.

His salvation came with a deafening explosion that sent the snake's head crash on the ground, his left eye ruined.

"What's a kid doing here?"

"Less talking, more killing!"

Phi turned toward the two unknown voices, immediately spotting the newcomers. A woman with short dark hair, clad in white and black, was holding what looked like a portable canon with a blade attached under it, smoke still wafting out from the barrel – Phi guessed that was the cause of the previous explosion. Rushing ahead of her was a young man with short, spiky white hair in a dark blue coat, dragging along a mechanical longsword with a blade that ignited in flames with a roaring sound. Jumping high, the newcomer fell on the injured monster like a meteor, his blade severing the second head with one slash.

Phi couldn't but sigh in relief. That had been way too close. The woman rushed toward him while her partner made sure the beast was actually dead.

"Hey! Are you alright? It didn't bite you, did it?"

The malak shook his head. "No, I'm fine! Thank you for saving me."

The man by the snake's corpse whistled as he inspected the body. "Didn't need that much saving. Shit, kid, did you do that?" he asked while pointing at the head his spell severed. He shook his head when Phi nodded. "And without weapons? You must have one crazy-ass semblance."

"Angelo!" his partner exclaimed. "Can't you try to watch your mouth when a child's around?" She turned toward the malak, kneeling to put herself at his level. Phi abruptly noticed that her two eyes were of different colors. Woah. "I'm sorry for my friend, he really could use some better manners."

"Hey, my manners are great!" the man protested, making Phi chuckle. That kind of bickering reminded him of his travels with the others. "So, what are you doing here alone? It's a dangerous place, you know. I mean..." He gestured toward the corpse, which had begun to emit steam. Was the body disintegrating on its own? He couldn't help but think that was a little creepy.

Phi scratched his head. "Um, I'm kind of lost? I don't know where I am right now."

The two adults watched him with concern. "Your parents must be worried sick," the woman said with a soft tone.

"Oh, I don't have parents," Phi quickly reassured her, though it only made her look more solemn. "But I wasn't travelling alone! We kinda got split up, but I'm sure we'll find each other real soon!" The woman nodded, though she still seemed a little worried. He supposed most adults would be, given his situation. He tried to assuage her fears with a smile. "I'm Laphicet, by the way."

She smiled back. "Nice to meet you, Laphicet. I'm Mary. And my surly partner over here is Angelo."

"I'm not surly", the white-haired man protested. "But nice to meet you, kid." He sheathed his blade on his back before turning toward his partner. "So, what now? We still didn't find the other team, but with our little buddy here..."

Mary sighed. "Yeah, we need to go back." She turned toward Phi. "You should probably come with us. This forest is pretty dangerous, and I'm sure your friends will have an easier time finding you if you're somewhere safe."

The young malak nodded. If there were other snakes like the one he just met, it was probably for the best. "Where are we going?"

"For now, the Academy is probably the best place. The headmaster will probably be able to help you."

That seemed promising. Plus, academies were places where you learned things, right? That meant books! It could be the perfect place to learn more about this world.

"Okay. Let's go!"

"Ah, you're pretty eager, aren't you, kid?" the swordsman called. "It's a long walk, though, so save your strength."

"It's all right," Phi confidently replied. "I'm used to walking." After travelling all across the Midgand Empire for months, he was getting used to it.

Angelo smiled at the bravado. "'Atta boy."

Led by his two new companions, Laphicet resumed his journey through the woods. After a few minutes of silence, he attempted to strike a conversation.

"Um, I was wondering... Earlier, you said something about... semblance?"

The white-haired man briefly turned his head toward him. "No-one explained that to you? I mean, I suppose most kids your age wouldn't know, but given that you have one... Well, how do I put it? It's like your very own special power."

Phi tilted his head in confusion. "Special power?"

"Yup. It's different for everyone. It comes from your soul, or some shi- something like that," he corrected himself.

Laphicet was confused. That sounded a bit like a malak's blessing, but it couldn't be the same... right? "Do you have a semblance, then?"

The man laughed. "Well, I'd be a pretty poor huntsman if I didn't, you know?"

Yet another unfamiliar term, but he could make a guess for this one. "So you hunt monsters?" It would certainly explain the weaponry.

"Yeah, that's usually the job. I mean, there's other stuff, but... Tell you what. Once we're at the Academy, you can ask the teachers there, I'm sure they can explain it better than-" He interrupted himself when he saw Mary raising a hand, as she stopped to check her surroundings, looking tense. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure."

She looked around, a frown on her face. Phi did the same, but only saw trees and bushes all around. That's when he noticed it; the complete lack of bird singing. And judging by his companion readying her weapon, that probably wasn't a good sign. When she shared her conclusion, the malak couldn't quite suppress the chill down his spine.

"I don't think we're alone here."

Hidden in a tree, a lone figure watched the trio glancing around. That was a huntress' instinct for you, he supposed. Too little too late though. They were exactly where he wanted them.

He had expected only two targets; the child wasn't part of the plan. Oh well. A bloodthirsty smile appeared on his face as his scorpion tail rose in anticipation for the battle to come.

What a terrible tragedy.

Notes: a big thank you to CloudFry for beta-ing this chapter.