The townspeople bolted toward the graveyard, ready to carry and move the coffins from their place, if not, something worse was at play… With some of the guards ironically caught off-guard by Tasue, they were pushed down, trampled by some and even punched by the people. They headed to the center of their cause of despair and as they moved closer, some of the guards they had trampled at the back began rising up again, they weren't unconscious, let alone dead. Due to the men being armed, and the forgetfulness of the towners, one of the guards shouted, "Protect the coffins!!" Knowing full well that their lives depended on the safety of those two wooden structures and the bodies inside.
They aimed their rifles and began with a shot in the air. As expected, it caused a panic across the rest of the street, people ran out of their houses, women screamed, and the few children who lingered to watch just ran per the adults' demands for their safety. Damion watched all this unfold and of course, he took action, Tasue following his footsteps.
"Tasue!! Keep as many at bay as…" He paused to think if the words he used were too big for her before he decided to keep it simple and changed it to, "Tasue!! Beat the ones shooting!!"
"Okay!!" She shouted back from the entrance of the graveyard.
Damion looked for a vantage point but the shots began sounding too many for him to worry about one, so from the side of the street just barely on the entrance of the yard, he readied his bow and took a deep breath, the flame of his arrow caught the attention of a few onlookers with its glow. He drew on it and shot a similar arrow to the one that flew before they entered the town. It landed next to a group of trigger-happy guards and exploded, burning five of them, however, it also did extra damage on the graves that were there. Three gravestones were destroyed, along with the grass around them due to it.
"Hey!! Watch where you shoot!!" An old man retorted his actions.
"Sorry!!" Damion replied as he noticed.
He knew he'd have to think again about his approach, as much as he wanted to help them, he obviously couldn't add on to the destruction. He began concentrating once more… aiming for precision, the shape of an arrow recurrent in his mind, he focused on how he used to practice with his mother and Ritta. The feel of his mother's bow in his hand, the carvings of enchantments it held, the wooden arrows he only learned halfway how to make, the recent training he did with Ritta… the spark of it all…
Tasue took her last leaps as she jumped on a tall gravestone and off to a tarp that covered the outside goods of a trader before opening her umbrella and whipping another six guards to the ground as well as kicking their weapons away. This led to some of the people getting the weapons and managing to defend themselves, however, this wasn't all they had to deal with. Some of the people who were ahead also had a visit from the guards who directly guarded the coffins. They had their guns pointed at them, ready to shoot, and unfortunately for the party at the front, their allies who just got their guns were fighting back the others so they couldn't help. One of the guards placed his finger on his gun's trigger and cocked it before shooting. Sweat dripped as their hands surrendered in the air…
*****
Not too far from their position, two very goal-inclined individuals sprinted through the town, Spire, who ran through the streets that had people who moved for him due to fear, and atop him, Ritta watched, her light steps elegantly allowed her to move quickly as she followed behind him.
Not too far from them, two other people had began a fight in Spire's current hideout. Maki had taken out a pair of spiked knuckles, who's silver shone, from where?? It was too sudden for Alloy to tell. He charged at her since his "secret power" was no longer… well, secret. He threw a right punch straight at Alloy's face but she dodged it to her left. Immediately, Maki followed it up with a left uppercut but Alloy had her swords block it, she ignored the quick sparks that formed as she decided to headbutt him, but his right arm managed to arrive to her face first, flinging her across the room. She got up, wiping the dripped blood from her mouth before she attacked again, she launched a wave at him again, aiming for his torso, he dodged it by jumping high enough to miss it, smiling, "This again??" However, he gasped when he glanced at her and found another one headed for him in the air.
He quickly opened his palm and blocked it with his drift, so the wave just stayed in the air as it began dissipating. Unluckily for him, Alloy had already covered the distance between her waves and to his surprise, she appeared right below him. She roared as she swung her sword upward and the attack slashed him, cutting across his lower torso.
"ARGH!!" He groaned in pain as he fell back down. Blood trickling down the wound.
"I need to get to Spire!!" Alloy demanded.
She threw another wave at another window next to the broken one on her left, but it hung in the air, trying to cut against it but couldn't. Alongside hearing a lower toned sound than the screech from Ritta's arrow earlier, her eyes brightened, she gasped as she realized something. Maki held his slashed torso and noticed that smile on her face. He stood up as he retorted.
"You can't break out of here. It's what the boss wants. You'll have to defeat me first, and by then, it'll be too late!!"
Alloy's smile remained. Changing her objective to leaving the room, she jumped toward the window and hit the invisible wall, her sword deflected backward. Nothing happened but she was sure that attack was almost completely blocked. Maki attacked from behind, lunging and throwing a right hook at her head, she dodged it by crouching. She noticed that his hand passed through the shield and smashed the window… then she countered immediately by jumping up and hitting Maki's jaw with her head, disorienting him almost completely. She tried to test her theory by kicking him toward it but he hit a wall again, meaning it activated to prevent him from falling. Upon hearing a cracking sound, she smiled because she managed to get why. She jumped back and grinned before she began.
"Your walls need anchors, don't they??"
"What??" Maki asked, trying to catch his breath and fix his dislocated jaw.
"Your drift, you can make walls from anywhere, but their conditions and strength differ, walls in thin air are weaker, that's why when Ritta shot her arrow, it pierced through just a bit. When I noticed the barrier on the window, I hit it and it deflected my attacks well. It's attached to the walls like the window seal, the window itself, or the walls around it, that's where the cracking sound came from. It's anchored on the walls, making the damage spread to them instead of the barriers taking it directly."
"You're quite perceptive for a rookie, now that you know, what will you do?? You still can't esca…" Alloy flung the sword on her left hand at Maki. He dodged it and it hit his barrier on the window. Immediately she heard the cracking sound, she acted instantly, leaping straight for the edge of the window, slashing that area with her right sword and breaking down the entire wall as she vaulted outside. She laughed in her excitement of deducing his abilities and landed on the ground before she began running. Maki saw this and his mouth hung wide, dumbfounded.
"GET BACK HERE!!" He demanded as he jumped out to followed her.