Seraphine hovered above the battlefield, bow in hand, eyes sharp as razors. Her gaze swept the carnage below, making sense from the chaos.
'There.'
In one fluid motion, she drew, pulled, and fired.
BOOM.
The arrow screamed through the sky and punched through her target's chest like a shard of thunder.
She didn't stop to watch him fall. Her attention snapped to Second Commander Romulus's position, where he clashed in brutal combat.
She had orders—from Master Raleigh himself. Eliminate the enemy's key assets. No hesitation.
BOOM.
A nearby explosion rattled the air, and she soared higher, instinctively avoiding the blast.
"Damn," she muttered, eyes narrowing. "They're strong."
Too strong. Not many could trade blows with Romulus and live.
'Maybe... just a peek,' she thought, pausing in midair. She'd already filled today's quota. Besides, watching Romulus fight was a masterclass in warfare.
Of course he'd win. He always di-
The enemy commander's mana erupted, a brilliant, blinding gold flaring like a newborn sun.
Seraphine froze.
"No way," she whispered, heart dropping into her gut.
Her breath hitched. Eyes wide. The enemy wasn't losing—he was ascending.
'Second commander is going to lose….'
Panic sliced through her haze of disbelief.
She had to stop this.
Drawing another arrow, she flooded it with every ounce of anti-mana she had. The shaft began to glow a warped violet, the air trembling around it. She steadied her breath…aimed….
And fired.
BOOM.
The arrow tore the sky apart—then tore through the enemy commander's throat. His eyes widened in shock. He staggered.
Seraphine smirked. Bullseye.
But before she could celebrate—
His golden mana exploded outward in a violent vortex. It roared like a beast unleashed.
'Crap—I was too late!'
The blast smashed into her, nearly knocking her out of the sky. She dropped altitude fast, struggling to maintain control with the influx of chaotic mana.
"Romulus!" she cried, scanning frantically.
But the battlefield below was dust and silence.
Nothing…not even a corpse.
'He's gone.'
The realization hit like a hammer to the chest.
Romulus was dead.
Cold dread crawled into her bones.
What kind of monsters were they fighting?
She turned to flee, heart racing.
Then—movement. A flicker to her right.
Too late.
A white-haired boy with glowing scarlet eyes slammed into her midair, his blade slicing clean through her armor and into her gut.
"Wha—!"
Pain flared through her like wildfire. Her mana control wavered. The boy held tight, feral and snarling.
He drew a dagger.
Her eyes went wide. "NOO—!"
He drove it into her again, cruel and deliberate.
The agony shattered her focus. Her mana control -gone- like dust in the wind.
And then—she was falling.
Plummeting through the sky like a broken star.
The boy clung to her all the while, his red eyes gleaming like bloodied rubies.
...
I watched in horror from my hiding spot.
The battle raged on in a terrifying display of power.
I had managed to drag Noah into a ditch, the both of us too injured to move any farther.
Slumping against the rotting corpses, we watched the chaos unfold with wide eyes.
"Fuck," Noah breathed. "Is that how strong I can get?"
I smiled bitterly. 'No… you can get even stronger.'
My heart pounded as my eyes locked onto the airborne MageKnight—the same one who had shot Noah.
I watched as she chose and picked out powerful MageKnights, disposing all of them with an almost insulting ease.
I followed the arrow's deadly trajectory as it struck our commander's neck, and I was powerless to do a thing to stop it.
'She has to die.' That flying MageKnight was too dangerous. She was picking off our officers, destroying our command structure.
If nothing was done, all of our strongest Knights were going to be killed.
I turned to Noah, locking eyes with him. "Noah."
"What?"
"Do you trust me?"
A beat of silence. Then, "What do you need me to do?"
I pointed at the MageKnight. The golden light around our commander intensified. He was going to blow himself up.
"We need to take her down."
Noah scoffed. "Yeah, and I need to become a Duke. We can't all get what we want."
"Mana Burst" I replied simply.
Noah froze. His green eyes narrowed. "How do—"
"You said you trusted me."
After a brief hesitation, he nodded. "This isn't over"
"Okay."
"How are we doing this?"
"The blast will knock her lower. You'll propel me up there using Mana Burst."
Noah frowned. "Why not me?"
I deadpanned. "Because you can barely use your arm."
He seemed to battle with himself before finally exhaling sharply. "So eager to die for me all of a sudden."
"Tell me about it" I scoffed, half seriously.
Then, he grabbed my shoulder. "Don't die."
" Well since you asked so nicely. When I take her down—run. It's almost night."
He nodded curtly.
We waited. The explosion erupted, and as predicted, the MageKnight was knocked lower.
I nodded. Noah lay on his back, legs bent, ready to launch me.
I sprinted forward and leapt onto his feet.
"MANA BURST!"
A surge of power exploded beneath me, launching me skyward like a missile. My target barely noticed before my sword slammed into her with bone-crushing force.
She twisted in midair, rising higher, struggling to shake me off. I tightened my grip, twisting the blade deeper into her gut. A shrill, pained howl tore from her lips.
She flailed, but I refused to let go.
She wasn't falling.
Fumbling I pulled out the dagger from my belt, my gaze almost manic.
'You're dying today motherfucker!'
I plunged the dagger into her stomach, again and again, refusing to stop.
For a moment she froze.
Then, together, we plummeted to the earth, crashing down like a comet.
And everything went dark as I slammed into the Earth.
...…
Pain.
That's what woke me.
So much pain, radiating from everywhere. As if every single atom of my body was crying out while belly dancing in fire.
That must mean I'm alive.
I had to be—last time I died it had never been this painful.
When I forced my eyes open, for a brief, terrifying moment, I thought I had gone blind.
It took me a moment to realise that it was night. A pitch-back, starless night. No Moon to offer even the faintest glimmer of light.
Just the dark and bitter cold air.
The ground beneath me was jagged and uneven. Groaning, I tried to shift my position, I needed to see my legs. But I couldn't see a thing…still, I didn't need eyes to know they were a mangled mess.
I must've landed in a ditch, probably carved out from my suicidal crash into the Earth.
A gasp of pain escaped my lips.
'Is this how I go? Ahh I'm an idiot for trying to be a hero…I should've just left it to someone else. Why the fuck didn't I?'
For some reason I could think of any of the reasons that had propelled me to do such an idiot thing.
From what I could tell, my fate was split into two futures. None of them were nice.
Either, I'd bleed out and die in the cold. Alone and swallowed by night.
Or I'd survive to see daylight, only to be trampled by the battle the next day.
Bleeding out or being trampled. 'Fucking lovely…hopefully Noah made it back…that would be acceptable at least.'
"Ahh fuck, me and my shitty life. Lives really."
A low mocking voice - far too close - broke the eerie quiet.
"Oh, so you're awake, huh?"
I froze. My blood ran cold.
"How… How are you alive?" I rasped.
A soft laugh echoed through the dark. "You mean how am I still breathing after you stabbed me like a lunatic and dragged me down here like some demon pulling me straight to hell?"
"…uhh yeah?"
"Two mid-grade healing potions."
My stomach sank. "Then why are you still here?" I asked, fighting to keep the small sliver of hope out of my voice. "Why don't you go back?"
"Because the artillery mages would shoot me out of the sky."
'Shit…well at least I tried.'
A weary sigh cut through the silence. I couldn't see her, but somehow I knew she was staring right at me.
"Look," she said, her voice half exasperated. "I say we call a truce till morning. If you agree, I'll give you my second potion. Then, when the sun's up, we'll settle this like soldiers and fight it fair."
I narrowed my eyes. "Funny you say that after you just assassinated my commander. Not very soldiery of you."
She laughed. "Alright, if you don't want the healing potion, I can always just drink it myself. I mean, I don't really need it, but I am feeling a little thirsty."
"Wait!"
"No questions asked—that's another condition," she cut in smoothly. "So, what'll it be, mister devil?"
I hesitated. There were too many things not to trust about this apparent lifeline.
Every second I spent thinking, the pain in my body grew sharper, more unbearable.
'Ahh fuck it, she's got me dead to rights.' "Fine," I exhaled. "Truce."
Without warning, a small glass vial came sailing through the air. I barely caught it, fumbling in my weakened state.
"Careful," she teased. "Drop it, and you're dead."
I didn't waste another second. Uncorking the bottle, I downed the contents in one gulp.
Immediately, warmth surged through my limbs. A cool soothing feeling flooded my veins, quieting the searing agony. I could feel my legs reknitting, along with the various gashes all over my body.
But, along with the healing, a wave of exhaustion rolled over me, almost crippling, as my energy was sapped to supplement the healing.
But the pain…
The pain was gone at least.
"Ahh," I sighed, flexing my legs experimentally. "That's better." I tried to get up, but as soon as I did, a wave of dizziness crashed over me, and I collapsed back on the ground.
A brief silence stretched between us before she spoke again.
"So then, mister devil. What's your name?"
I hesitated. She had just saved my life, my name wouldn't hurt, at least?
Then, a thought crossed my mind—a small, wry smile tugging at my lips.
"Reshi," I decided. "My name is Reshi."