"Well, that's quite unfortunate, isn't it~"
The sound of sizzling flesh whispered through the air as Elsa pressed a jagged block of ice to the raw underside of her torn foot. The cold hissed against her skin. She exhaled softly, almost pleased, and lightly stamped it on the wooden floor, testing the makeshift sole. Her smile never faded during the entire process.
With a low crouch, Elsa lunged. Wood cracked. Her blade flashed.
Emilia reacted fast. A crystal and thin ice shield formed, orbiting her.
Clang. Slash. Crack.
Elsa danced through, her strikes relentless. Each hit chipped away at the spinning ice. A slash slipped through, leaving Emilia's shoulder with a cut. She winced but held firm. The crystal and shield still encircled her.
Elsa grinned, sliding back. "You're fun."
Before going back into the fray, more slashes done, then the crystal is shattered, leaving only one orbiting defender. Emilia stayed focused, as the shield had to go faster to cover the extra ground around her.
Then she was in again. Faster, sharper. A flurry of blows. The crystal shattered, shards scattering like glass.
Only the shield remained, its movements more frantic now, spinning tighter, faster, a single guardian stretched thin to cover Emilia's whole body.
Elsa noticed. Her grin widened.
She lunged forward, slashing at the shield with fierce precision. Emilia barely managed to block, but Elsa quickly stepped aside, planting her foot with a sharp crack against the floor. Instantly, she darted past Emilia's defence, side-kicking her across the room. Emilia was sent hurtling toward the bar.
Emilia recovered quickly, springing onto the bar counter to regain her footing. But Elsa was faster. Before Emilia could even adjust, Elsa was already airborne, spinning mid-leap with a deadly slash aimed directly at her bowl.
Emilia managed to dodge just enough to avoid the blade, but the force of the strike sent her crashing into the shelves of liquor bottles. The impact rattled the entire bar, and bottles shuddered, some toppling and shattering on impact.
Boxes, pots, and miscellaneous items tumbled down, burying Emilia under a small avalanche of debris, her form hidden from sight.
Ah shit, Not good,
I had recovered the blade I'd thrown earlier, bringing my count back up to two. But I hesitated.
I knew I was safe; if I died, I'd just come right back. But... the pain, the suffering of death... I really didn't want to go through that again. The memories of it still lingered, gnawing at my resolve.
I remember that puck said I had what... shadow, fire and wind affinity, so maybe I could use a spell as a last resort. Yeah, even if I don't get her with the spell, and get paralysed from no mana. I'd still be fine. So it's a viable last resort strategy. i can't remember the suffix for wind magic, and shamac is pretty useless if i can't move after. So Goa it is.
I quickly shook the thoughts away, pushing aside the hesitation. Refocusing, I raised my blades. New resolve settled in my chest as I dashed toward Elsa, who was already making her way toward the pile of debris that had buried Emilia.
"Ah?" she muttered, noticing my approach.
I halted, instantly realising that without a jump, attacking was a one-way ticket back to the past. Remembering what I needed to do, i waited. all i needed to do. is to stall.
"Isn't it quite rude and boring to cut into a dance midway through its act?" Elsa teased, her voice dripping with amusement.
"Is it really a dance if one's not alive at the end?" I retorted.
Elsa smirked, her lips curling into a sly grin as she let out a light chuckle. "Oh, how delightful," she purred. "It's still a dance, even if the ending act leads to death, but i suppose you won't be finding out, will you?"
Without warning, her stance shifted, and Elsa lunged, her blade slicing through the air toward me.
I braced myself, raising my weapons. The clash of steel echoed, each strike sharp and heavy, the air humming with tension. I dodged, deflected, and parried, but Elsa's speed and precision pushed me back. One slash slipped through, catching my side near the bowl.
I hissed, the sting biting into me. My grip tightened, but I didn't falter, holding my ground. Behind me, I could hear debris crunching as Emilia freed herself from the pile. She quickly regained her footing and, began launching crystal shots of ice in Elsa's direction, creating a sort of barrier for every strike.
The added support gave me a moment to breathe, and I stepped back to reassess. Elsa was still closing in, her eyes gleaming with excitement, and back to deflecting. I was faring better than before because each time I started to lose ground, Emilia would come in with an assist that forced Elsa to dodge or block, leading to her slowly being chipped away. It was very, very slow, but she was being chipped with small cuts all around.
But I was still on guard, watching carefully. I was waiting for her to switch targets, just like she did last loop. My train of thought stopped as I caught it—mid-strike, Elsa was shifting. Her posture changed, her eyes locked on Emilia.
I knew what she was about to do.
I brought up both blades, deflecting her strike. Elsa slammed her foot into the ground, the floor cracking beneath her. Wooden boards snapped and lifted as she twisted, now fully turned toward Emilia.
She wasn't focused on me anymore.
That was my opening.
I pushed forward without hesitation, blades raised. But even as I moved, my mind was already calculating. The distance was too much. I wouldn't reach her in time, so... i did the only logical thing.
I YEETED my blade as hard as I could.
It flew through the air with perfect precision, barreling straight toward her wide-open back. Elsa didn't look back. She was too focused on Emilia, just about to bring her swing down. But before she could complete the strike, the force of the blade slammed into her back, bursting into a sharp, searing pain.
Elsa staggered forward, her swing halted by the blade lodged in her back. She spun around, her face contorting in pain, but—wait—was that... pleasure? A hint of annoyance mixed in as well. She yanked the weapon out, tossing it aside with an almost nonchalant flick. Her eyes locked onto me, a fury in them, like the kind someone gives a bug that bites them, tiny but irritating.
"Agh~, how rude. Are you that eager to di-" She was cut off, her words drowned out by the sudden force slamming into her from behind.
The impact sent her staggering forward again, catching her off guard. She turned sharply, her stance shifting, but before she could react, Emilia's ice crystal collided with her back once more. The cold burst through her defences, and Elsa's annoyance shifted to a sharp hiss of pain. She twisted, her movements more erratic now.
"I won't give you another chance like that again," she muttered, her voice colder than ever, before firing a barrage of sharp ice crystals at us. But this time, something was different. Elsa didn't flinch, didn't hesitate. Instead of being struck, she blocked the incoming projectiles with precision, her body moving like a finely tuned machine.
"I've grown tired of this little game," she sneered, her voice dripping with impatience. "Don't you have anything else to show for?"
Her eyes gleamed with boredom as she easily deflected and blocked each of Emilia's ice crystals with effortless precision.
"If not, then I'll have to finish this…" Elsa muttered, her fingers brushing the hilt of a small, dagger-like weapon at her waist. It was smaller, more refined, with a sharp, pointed end rather than the usual curved blade.
Without warning, she hurled it toward Emilia with lightning speed.
Emilia reacted instinctively, raising her hand to form a defensive shield of ice. But the dagger was faster, its trajectory too strong for her to completely block, causing her to flinch and slightly stagger. Yet, before she could fully react, Elsa threw another, this one too close for Emilia to avoid. She managed to raise her arm to shield her face, but the second dagger still dug into her shoulder, forcing her to stagger back, wincing in pain.
Well, it's now or nothing, I guess.
i put my hand forward and focused, first, i needed her attention, "Hey, Elsa! You said you wanted something else, right? Well, let me show you a surprise."
Elsa's eyes narrowed, noticing the shift in my demeanour, she was intruiged in my sudden burst of confidence.
She glanced between Emilia, still reeling from the injury, and me. Her smirk flickered with intrigue. "A surprise, hmm?" she taunted, her voice low, but the challenge was unmistakable. "I'll admit, I'm curious, but I'm not waiting forever, you know." She didn't expect much, after all. I've done nothing but use dirty tricks and barely defend against her attacks with the help of the elf girl. What could I do? It's not like I could use magic.
With that, she took a step forward, eyes still fixed on me, ready to close the distance in an instant if needed.
But it was clear she was waiting for me to make my move.
I pushed the thoughts of hesitation aside, focusing completely. ok, so, from what puck said, all i need to do is visualise my gate, and image a flow of mana going through it, then visulise the spell, and use the corresponding chantation.
Taking a moment to clear my mind, I could feel the energy swirling inside me. Mana, I assumed. I could picture the gate forming, and with it, the flow of mana, like a river pushing its way through.
There was resistance at first, a fucking lot of resistance, but it was flowing, albeit slowly, the mana began to build up, growing stronger and stronger and...
oh shit, i forgot one tiny little thing... i remembered the draw back, that i'd be left with no mana, but i somehow forgot one little detail, all that mana will be going into the attack... and from what i remembered from subaru's opening shamak... it was a fuck ton.
The mana shifted, no longer a gentle stream I could control, but an ocean - unstoppable, relentless, and careening toward me with no regard for my physical limits.
i calmed down and opened my eyes, giving up the idea that i'd be surviving. realising that I could no longer stop it. I might as well make a quip before we all die.
I nervously smiled and turned to the injured Emilia, whose face was twisted in pain as she tried to stem the bleeding. "Well, sorry for this, but it seems I've made a little mistake, so... we're all going to die." She looked at me, confusion overtaking her expression. She couldn't grasp why my demeanour had shifted so suddenly. The concern in her eyes was palpable, her mind struggling to understand my change in stance. but I wasn't going to explain, her expression was too funny... plus there was no time as well. But mostly the first reason.
Then I turned back to Elsa, locking onto her again. The flow of mana was unbearable now, like it hurt like a fucking truck, like the energy was trying to ram its way out. But I held strong, pushing through the pain, because I had just one thing left to say. that would be too glorious to give up.
"Elsa Granhiert... fuck you. Goa!"
Elsa barely reacted, her eyes narrowing slightly, the only sign of her awareness of what was coming. She didn't flinch or look panicked, she was just standing there, perhaps underestimating what was about to happen. "Is that it? a measly go-"
*BOOOOOOOOOM!*
A surge of unimaginable burning pain erupted from my hand, slamming directly into Elsa before detonating violently. The explosion tore through her, cutting her apart in every direction, disintegrating her form, and annihilating everything around us. The mana I had gathered unleashed itself in a massive wave of destructive energy, decimating the surroundings in its wake. The ground trembled beneath us, and the air was filled with a deafening roar as the spell detonated, expanding into a blinding ball of fire that resembled a miniature sun. The explosion was so bright that everything around me vanished into pure white light.
Searing hot pain...
Then nothing.
---
"AGH!" I gasped, snapping back to reality, the sudden wave of sharp, painful awareness crashing over me.
My vision was blurry, everything still a wash of white... or wait, no—it was just Emilia, her concerned face coming into focus.
A profound sense of tranquillity washed over me as the realisation set in: I was no longer in combat. But I was still shaken, my body reeling from the aftermath of what had just happened.
I-I... I let out a shaky breath, going limp as I rested my head on the table. That... was a fucking shitty idea. Should've definitely used wind magic. Why am I such an idiot? using fire indoors. Of course, that would happen.
---
A/N I feel like I'm dragging this out, so sorry. hoped you liked it, here is a little something.
---
The blonde girl, the one who had been in distress earlier, had been leading me to the scene of the conflict. Now, with some direction and a clear goal in mind, I was racing toward it. The sounds of conflict were already in the air, distant and growing louder as I ran. My feet pounded the ground, and the tension in the air gripped me tighter with every step.
I could feel it, the ominous weight of the situation pressing down on me. I needed to get there quickly, to stop something terrible from happening. My footsteps quickened as I reached the building where the battle was unfolding.
I leapt up, aiming to crash through the roof, making myself a target, drawing attention away from the others. I was almost there, just a few more seconds... but then, just as I was about to break through, I heard it. The unmistakable sound of an explosion.
The force of it hit me before I could even react. My body was thrown violently into the air, the shockwave lifting me high above the scene. I could barely make sense of it as I soared upwards, thankfully due to a plethora of my divine protection was unharmed, but.
From above, I saw it, an immense crater, as if the earth had been torn apart. Multiple buildings were caught in its wake, crumbled down. The destruction stretched out in every direction, the crater being big enough to fit multiple buildings in its wake, the destruction, causing many buildings to collapse.
I had no words, no thoughts, only the crushing realisation of what I had just witnessed. Everything below seemed like a blur now, and as I fell back down toward the wreckage, I knew things had gone wrong.
that I had failed...
monster
You don't deserve it
You killed h-
I shook my head, pushing the voice aside. I couldn't afford to linger on that thought, not now. I steadied my breath, steeling myself as I walked towards the rubble. My feet moved on their own, the weight of what had happened pressing down on me with every step.
I knew. I was a monster. I had failed. And now, I had to face the consequences.
...
again.
A/N
I love Reinhard,
You do?
Yes, that's why I must make him suffer :D
oh... isn't that kinda wei-
No it isn't. Now, go back to being not real.