"Uwah...? What happened?" Mari asked, rubbing her head.
"Those guys took Liora..."
"What? Why!?"
"How am I supposed to know!? They were Siarath. That's why they didn't die," I said, kicking the wall. "And why couldn't Alwyn help? He's supposed to be some great wizard but he's been completely useless since I've met him!"
"It is kind of strange... he's nothing like the rumors. I've only seen him cast rudimentary spells."
"It's my—cough—fault," Aliza interrupted.
She was standing in the doorway, leaning on the wall. She looked even worse than earlier.
"So now you show up?" Mari laughed sarcastically. "What's with you anyway? I don't even see why you're travelling with us. I heard—"
I slapped the back of her head to shut her up.
"I'm sick. I didn't know, Linnie, but when we first met, I was only a few days from death. I'm only alive right now because Alwyn cast an extremely complex reinforcement spell.
A spell he keeps up all day, every day. Even as he sleeps. It's incredibly draining, and there's probably no one else that could keep up such a spell for this long, all day, every day."
"That's why we're running from that knight, then?" Mari asked. "And why he was defeated by a piece of wood?"
"How'd you know about that?" I asked.
"...Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice? Tch."
"It's true. Currently, there's no way in hell Alwyn could defeat a knight. Not one that strong, anyway. So don't be so harsh, he's just been keeping me alive."
She lost her balance, and I quickly caught her.
"Just go to bed. We'll find Liora."
"You can't. Those people, they're not just thugs, they're—"
"Vampires of the southern continent," Mari stated. "Part of the reason the king commissioned Alwyn to take on apprentices in the first place."
What? Is that true?
"Haaah. You're a real know-it-all, huh?" Aliza laughed weakly.
"Is it better to be an ignorant fool?"
Am I an ignorant fool, then?
I brought Aliza back to her bed. Alwyn was passed out, legs still healing. I stood over him, and rummaged through my hat.
"Linnie, what're you doing? I already gave the strongest potion we have."
Yeah, but you didn't give him this...
When I returned to the room, Prince was awake and speaking with Mari.
"You're not coming with us. You're too weak."
"I'm not! What about you? You lost to Lin just like I did!" Prince argued.
"Tch, that was the result of a battle. It could've gone either way."
"Prince, stay here. Whoever those people are don't know Alwyn is hurt yet. If they find out, they're sure to come right here and attack him. We need someone defending the room while we're gone," I said.
Please bite...! We can't take him, obviously! He'll just weigh us down.
"...Fine! But you better come back with Liora!"
"Of course!"
Mari and I leapt through the window into the night. The town was small, and there were fewer rooftops than a large city. That meant the masked men couldn't have gone that far. They were still in the town.
Should I just blow up buildings until we find them? To hell with all these townspeople, right!?
"What're you doing? Stop that, idiot," Mari said, slapping my hands down.
I suppose I lost myself for a moment.
"This place is completely quiet! It's like there isn't a soul awake and moving in this entire town. You don't think they could've gotten on a carriage and are far away by now, do you?" I asked.
"I don't know! We just have to keep looking!"
"To the left."
I froze.
"What's wrong?" Mari asked.
What was that voice just now?
"It's me, Linnie. I'll guide you to the girl."
Is that you, shadow lady!?
"...Yes. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Wake up! Why are you frozen like that!?" Mari shouted.
You know where Liora is?
"Yes, but you don't have much time. Go!
The shadow wasn't speaking to me like usual. She wasn't in front of me, but spoke into my mind. It sounded as if someone was whispering right into my brain.
I followed her directions as Mari shouted profanities. But I didn't have time to talk to her.
"Just shut up and follow me!"
"There, in that building. Fast, there's no time to be careful."
I jumped through the building's window, crashing through the glass and landing inside. I was surrounded by thirty or forty masked men, all armed. In the far back, Liora was unconscious in a bathtub.
Of course, a big empty storage warehouse.
"How'd they find us!?"
We didn't respond. Mari dashed forwards and cleaved one's head off, setting his body on fire and turning it to ash. She started to clash with ten men at once, fending off all of their blades with her one.
I cast a large flame basilisk, taking out six at once. By then, though, we lost our element of surprise, and we started to lose momentum.
They were closing in on me, and I had to dodge and maneuver around the men, sliding between their legs or jumping on their backs, all while casting spells.
I felt a foot kick my back, sending me crashing into a barrel. The man was about to shoot me with his matchlock before a sword flew through his skull. The blade wriggled out and flew back into Mari's hand.
"Wow, I actually did it!" she cheered.
In her moment of celebration though, she was struck in the back of her head, causing her to fall to her knees.
Damn it! Fire missile!
I cast six fire missiles, all with different targets, the three men right on top of me exploded into flames, and the men around Mari were forced to block the missiles.
It feels like their numbers aren't decreasing at all! Are they all Siarath? If we don't obliterate them, they just get back up in a few seconds! I'm gonna have to use it at this rate...!
I grabbed my hand and reached into it. First, I felt the pommel of my sword. I grabbed it and threw it out towards Mari.
"That should help!"
Mari caught it. "I suck at dual-wielding, though!"
I continued rummaging through my hat, dodging swings and bullets. I felt the texture of wood and yanked it out. Immediately, the obsidian orb lit up, and I felt my mana being ripped away from me.
Damn, it's so uncomfortable! Fire missiles!
Instead of from my hands, the spell manifested at the tip of the staff. Though I put in even less mana than I usually do, the missiles were triple the size and heat.
So this is the power of a wizard's staff...!?
They shot through the air at incredible speeds, and didn't even disperse once they hit their target, but continued through two or three more.
Mari was creating whirlwinds of red-hot flame and sharp blue mana on each blade. The blades were glowing bright, slicing through the men as if it was a ballet show.
Oh shit...! What's happening!?
My staff began to violently shake in my hands. I let go of it from reflex, but it hovered in the air. The air cracked and warped around it and we all froze, staring in awe.
Then, screams filled the air.