I exhaled heavily, still kneeling. Standing up felt impossible — my legs trembled like they'd been supporting three hundred pounds of dead weight while trudging uphill through mud.
'Ah...'
Another breath escaped me. Life sure was hard for F rank people.
'What the hell was that? What did I just experience?'
I glanced up at Kassie. She was staring at her sword with a fierce scowl, examining the edge where that person had caught it. Caught it. With their bare hand.
"Do—do you have any idea who that could be?"
Someone that size — they'd looked my height, maybe shorter — it made no sense. That fragile-looking frame shouldn't have been able to stop Kassie's enormous blade. Not without losing the hand. Not without effort.
Her eyes grew distant as she studied the weapon. Then she looked at me and shook her head.
"No idea."
I exhaled again. Third time in barely a minute.
'Fuckshit.'
Kassie's gaze fixed on me, carrying that familiar condescension I'd grown to hate.
