"Hmm, where should I start?"
Arianna stood over the slumbering Eleanor, whose body rested against the solid stone wall of the vault chamber.
Not a sound could be heard other than her voice, leaving an uneasy silence to descend over the room.
How the hell did she expand her magic core this much in such a short amount of time? It's to the level of a Saint at least…
She sighed as she pulled a small blade from a rift of darkness that consumed the space behind her.
"I do not wish to do this; however, the strength I could gain from your core is… Astounding."
Greed flashed past the woman's eyes as she brought the knife close to Eleanor's chest, preparing a small incision.
Embedded into every living creature is a single magical core that rests on the opposite side of the chest to the heart.
At birth, they are nothing but a useless organ that does nothing but devour energy from other body processes; however, if applied properly, they could awaken in an instant.
These individuals who can use the core can use various types of magic depending on the specialty they are taught.
"Let's see what makes you tick, eh?"
The icy blade brushed across the girl's clothing, ripping layers apart like nothing, revealing pale white skin that she prepared to slice.
For most people, the magic capacity is enough for two, maybe even three medium-level spells in one burst of power.
However, Eleanor Lynn was born, contrary to the normal wielders of spell craft, with magical energy being imbued into her very being even before birth as the result of her mother's curse.
This allowed the girl to surpass her peers and even elders, granting her the title of prodigy in the Church of Depths and a prime target for slavers who wished for a magical servant.
But an unexpected event caused irreparable damage to her entire body as she gazed upon the divine with mortal eyes.
Immediate death was a guarantee, yet even after brain function ended and the heart ceased to beat, her magic core never stopped pumping mana throughout the body.
This one deviation from the normal confused Arianna and even drew hordes of monstrous zombies towards her while post mortem.
Fwooshhhhhh.
A warm breeze permeated the chamber, leaving an ominous feeling to settle inside Arianna's chest.
Each of the magenta runes slowly flashed a dim white before transforming into a twinkling turquoise and black that swirled like liquid.
The torches that lit the chamber were snuffed out without a sound, leaving the only light in the underground being around the unmoving frame of the vault door.
This is unusual. Nothing like this has ever happened before…
Arianna furrowed her brow as she retracted the black blade from close to Eleanor's pristine skin that glistened off the blue light.
Rumbles from deep within the earth echoed out from the depths, tossing stones across the floor towards the deceased Aaron, who lay near the doorway.
Pearlecent balls of radiance appeared from nothingness surrounding his corpse in an impenetrable shell.
The silver-haired woman watched the scene in extreme confusion, unsure of what phenomenon was occurring before her very eyes.
Rushing wind burst into the room, filling every crevice with air that nearly knocked Arianna to the ground with its sheer force.
Outside the town hall, turquoise light filled the sky above the entirety of Sea Fallen, illuminating the once dark night with a brilliance unknown to this world.
In tandem, every zombified creature that roamed the city broke its neck in an attempt to find the source of the inhuman amount of force that radiated from within the underground.
Running through the back alleys was Lepaie Quinn, who tore through anything in his path in an attempt to make it to the vault before it was too late.
All of these events were but a side effect of a single boy's return to the mortal plane alongside a weapon beyond strength.
"W-What the hell are you?"
Arianna stumbled backwards as the once collapsed Aaron stood with his back facing her, staring at the sword that he held in his hands.
The clothing he once wore had disappeared, only to be replaced by magnificent robes that sparkled with magenta and turquoise light.
Intricate details of waves, islands, and sea monsters were thoughtfully stitched into various sections of the outfit, detailing countless adventures or stories that the blade had experienced.
Particles of moisture liquefied from their vapor form into balls of water that surrounded the hooded figure, who gripped the hilt of the beautiful blade.
Slowly, he turned to face Arianna, who stared with disbelief at the reanimated boy whose expression was deadpan and unwavering.
His face was an unbreachable blur of darkness, not revealing a single detail of his young face that she had once seen before.
Any exposed skin rippled with a translucent radiance that dripped and reformed like his entire body was a part of the ocean itself.
Behind the covering of the cloak he wore, Aaron's consciousness had yet to return, with his limbs simply moving by the will of the blade he carried.
With a brief breath, the figure raised the weapon above his head, preparing a slash that would split Arianna and the girl behind her into two pieces.
『Die』
The voice that spoke was not the innocent young man that the red-eyed woman had welcomed to the Hunters' Guild days ago, but instead one that was vaguely feminine with an ethereal presence that shook her to her bones.
"Shi—!"
His arms struck downward at rapid speeds faster than Arianna could move, leaving her dead in the center of his attack.
She could only hope to avoid instant death by covering her vitals; however, with a slash of that magnitude, she knew it was hopeless.
Shhhk.
The air split as the blade cut through its very makeup, ripping the particles to nothingness.
Arianna stared at the figure unwavering, preparing to be erased from this world, yet a sudden pause from the boy stopped the life-ending strike in its tracks.
"N-Not her…"
Aaron's figure flashed for a moment behind the cloak he wore, showing the woman a face battered and bruised, strained with pain as he forced his arms to stop in the middle of the attack.
The crack of one of his arms shattering echoed through the chamber, leaving his body trembling like he was a scared kitten.
His muscles screamed in protest, with the joints in his shattered arm creaking like splintered ice as he managed to stop the blade only inches from the woman's head.
"E-Eleanor is right behind her…"
His words came out in a staggered breath as he muttered to the sword at his side, whose blue glow flashed an angry red.
Arianna watched as the boy and the inanimate object argued back and forth with absolute confusion and even a hint of fear settling inside her chest.
Above her head, where the slash had stopped, a massive crack ripped through the bedrock, tunneling to the surface and beyond into the heavens.
Does he think me a fool, or has he lost his mind? Though that strike was something beyond even the level of the Master… Who the hell is this kid?
Rage bubbled inside her at the idea that the boy had taken pity on her life just because she happened to be standing in front of his friend.
Then, a truly evil thought seeped its way inside her mind.
He'll pay for letting me live, I swear that upon my life.
She stared at the arguing boy, quickly revealing the knife she had stashed in her pocket and holding it between her fingers.
Aaron didn't even see her move as she appeared next to Eleanor, weapon in hand, holding the glistening blade against her throat, drawing blood from the deceased body.
His heart froze as the reality of the situation flashed through his mind, with him barely being able to think straight out of fear.
Across from him, with her opposite hand, Arianna raised her right hand into the air, painting a small runic symbol in front of her.
A flash of black light burst from the shape, covering her entire figure in a protective covering that not even a seasoned warrior could hope to scratch.
"L-Let her go…"
His voice cracked and stuttered as he pleaded with the woman; however, she simply smiled at his earnest request.
Aaron's body shuddered as the backlash from stopping the strike echoed through him once again.
Not only was he too weak to prepare another strike, but as she was pressed directly against Eleanor, he would risk damaging her if he tried.
Arianna smiled as he realized what she had done, speaking again, this time calmer than before, finally feeling safe from his unnatural strength.
"I'll leave her unharmed on one condition."
She paused as she turned her gaze away from Aaron toward the sword he held at his side with the arm that hadn't been crippled.
"Give me that sword."