The battle raged on as the unnatural girl unleashed her relentless assault on the carriage convoy. With her staff, she commanded water-formed piranhas and swordfish, slaughtering every passenger in their path. Harik and his companions stood powerless against her might, and now Aibara faced the same fate as a swarm of water swordfish targeted her.
After the attack, the girl waved her staff, dissolving the protective jellyfish to survey the aftermath. "They're trying to escape," she murmured, noting Aibara's absence from the blast site. She pondered whether to pursue or let them flee, her voice cold. "I need more spirits."
Meanwhile, Nathaniel sprinted through the forest, clutching Aibara and using his crimson item to enhance his speed. They covered three kilometers in a minute before exhaustion forced him to stop. Losing balance, they tumbled to the ground. "Ouch! Why can't I master this thing?" Nathaniel groaned, wincing from his wounds. Though his energy slowed the bleeding, the pain lingered. Still, he felt a spark of pride at controlling his power.
As they sat, catching their breath, Aibara sprang up, grabbing Nathaniel by the collar. "What did you do? Why'd you drag me here? Harik and Masaw are still back there!" she screamed, her voice raw with desperation.
"Aibara, we can't go back," Nathaniel pleaded.
"Can't? Don't tell me it's impossible when you can run that fast!" she snapped, shoving him. Her grief-fueled rage demanded she return to save her companions, even alone.
Nathaniel tried to calm her, urging her to think clearly. "It's not that I can't take you back. There's no one left to save."
Her eyes blazed with denial. "Harik and Masaw can't be dead! Take me back—I have to help them!"
Nathaniel felt her anguish but couldn't argue against her pain. "Why did you pull me away from them?" she sobbed, tears streaming. "They're my family. They need me."
He averted his gaze, guilt weighing heavy. "We swore to stand together until the end, never abandoning each other," Aibara cried. "But you interfered, stopping me from saving them!"
"I saw how strong she was," Nathaniel said softly. "I just wanted to protect you."
"I don't need your help!" she roared, shoving him to the ground and storming back toward the battle.
Knowing Aibara's intent to die alongside her companions, Nathaniel scrambled to his feet and chased her. He grabbed her arm. "You can't go back!"
She wrenched free, swinging her bow at him. "Stay away! You have no right to stop me!"
"If you go alone, you'll die!" he shouted.
"I don't care if I die! I never needed you to save me!" she retorted, turning to run.
Nathaniel's heart sank, realizing she accepted her companions' deaths but chose to join them. Melon's voice cut through. "Nathaniel, we can't stay here. If you won't stop her, leave now."
"What can I do, Melon? I want to save her, but how?" he asked, desperate.
Melon acknowledged his desire to help but warned of the consequences. "Even if you save her, she'll live haunted by this tragedy. Her companions are gone, and that pain will stay with her."
"Is it selfish to want to help her because I think it's right?" Nathaniel wondered. "She wants to die with them, but would Harik and Masaw want that?"
Melon relented. "If you're set on this, follow my advice."
As Aibara ran back, she spotted a massive water-formed stingray charging toward her. Fueled by fury, she fired crimson arrows, piercing its body until it dissolved midair. Gasping for breath, her eyes burned with determination. She stepped forward but was tackled to the ground.
"What are you doing?" she screamed, finding Nathaniel pinning her arms with enhanced strength. "Let me go, you idiot! I told you to stop meddling!"
"I won't let you die out there!" he yelled.
"I don't care what happens to me! I need to save my family!" she cried, struggling.
Her grief drowned out his words. With no other choice, Nathaniel headbutted her, stunning her momentarily. "Is this really what you think is right?" he shouted.
Aibara retaliated with a headbutt, breaking free and kicking him away. She crawled, trying to stand, but Nathaniel lunged again, pinning her arms behind her back. "Let me go! Why are you so stubborn?" she demanded.
"I'm stopping you from throwing your life away! They're gone, Aibara!" he said, voice breaking.
"Shut up!" she screamed, sobbing. "They can't be dead. They're all I have. After our tribe was burned, Harik and Masaw accepted and loved me. If they're gone, I have no reason to live in this cruel world!"
"Please, let me join them," she begged.
Nathaniel closed his eyes, her pain cutting deep. "I understand how you feel, and I sympathize. But I can't let you die."
Aibara thrashed, threatening, "If I break free, you're the first I'll kill!"
He pressed his forehead against the back of her head, whispering as his arm's crystal glowed. "I'm sorry, Aibara, but Harik and Masaw wouldn't want this. They sacrificed themselves to keep you alive. Would you waste their lives by giving up?"
Her struggles paused as memories flooded back—Harik and Masaw protecting her, vowing to keep her safe as the youngest of their group. She realized their sacrifices were for her survival. Tears fell as she called their names, reliving their joyful moments together.
The crystal in Nathaniel's palm began siphoning Aibara's energy, glowing brighter until she weakened and lost consciousness. Energy surged through him, healing his wounds. "I'm sorry, but this is the only way I know to save you," he murmured.
He lifted her, using her healing ability to mend her injuries. Melon praised his choice but urged haste. "You need to get her out of here. Danger's still close."
As Nathaniel stepped forward, a five-meter-wide magic circle appeared beneath them, radiating blinding light. Water walls rose, trapping them in a circular prison with no exit but the sky. At twenty feet high, escaping seemed impossible.
"Can I jump that with a physical enhancer?" Nathaniel asked.
"Maybe," Melon replied, "but it's risky. She'd attack you midair, and you can't split your energy for both strength and protection. A hit would endanger Aibara."
The girl appeared behind them, staff in hand. "I need your souls. Please, make this easy," she said coldly.
Nathaniel whirled, clutching Aibara. "She's here," he whispered. Studying her ordinary appearance, he wondered what kind of creature she was. Her absence from his story's cast gnawed at him, leaving him clueless about her weaknesses.
"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?" he demanded.
"I need your spirits to revive my father," she replied.
Nathaniel frowned, knowing no magic in this world could resurrect the dead. "Are you sure about that?"
She hesitated, slamming her staff into the ground. "I don't know, but I must obey my mother."
The floating water orbs morphed into swordfish, aimed at them. Nathaniel's eyes caught Aibara's necklace, triggering a memory. "I remember now!" he gasped. In his manga, before Halooween's attack on Galica, an elf died fighting Halooween's children. "You're one of Halooween's children, aren't you?"
He realized this attack mirrored a scene from his comic, where the passengers, including Aibara, were fated to die. Desperate, he summoned fire from his hands, hurling a fireball. A water serpent absorbed it, unscathed. "Her magic's too high-level," Melon warned. "Your attacks won't work, and any barrier you make will shatter."
"I know, but I don't know how to escape," Nathaniel whispered.
"Time to end this. Give me your souls," the girl said, her staff's crystal flaring as the swordfish charged.
"No way," Nathaniel muttered, bracing for the inevitable.
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