"Ugh..." She slowly propped her body up from the cold hard ground. Looking around, it appeared she was in a makeshift cell—next to her lay three strangers, as well as Marie.
She attempted to wake Marie with a gentle shake but it was to no avail.
"Damn, the drug must've been strong..." She stood before walking towards the iron bars of the cell. From what she could see through the gaps in the bars, it appeared as if they were in some sort of makeshift prison. All the way down to the end of her vision were cells similar to the one she found herself in.
'that was the clown guy right? There's no mistaking that strange movement of his...' She thought to herself as she continued to grasp their situation. In each of the cells were around four to six people. All of them were unconscious.
Suddenly, from above a loud bang could be heard as the entire building shook. Dust rose into the air causing her to cough violently.
"shit... Shit!" She swore to herself as the banging continued. With no other option, she turned to the rusty iron bars.
Holding out her hand, she cast a spell. A swirling orb of darkness appeared in her hand. Moving it to the top of one of the bars- or at least as high as she could reach- the harsh sound of iron being torn into could be heard.
The skill hadn't done much when she tested it out earlier, but she theorized that if it were given enough time it could do something against these rusted bars. And to her relief, she was right. It was small, but there was progress. Underneath the flying sparks, she could see the shiny interior of the bar start to become exposed.
After five whole minutes, the top part of the bar had been severed. With a sigh of relief, she attempted to cast the skill again to sever the lower half...
-Mana has reached critical levels. Unable to cast skill.-
"... Alright." She breathed in deep before pushing against the loose bar with all her might. Perhaps it was the deteriorated state of the bars, or just her prowess as an otherworlder, but the bar actually bent! Not by much but still, it was enough for a person to squeeze through.
Just as she was about to flee the cell, she turned to Marie who was still unconscious. With a grunt, she lifted her over her shoulder before continuing out of the cell.
The hallway was long but thin, maybe only enough for two people to walk through. side by side if they held their breath. The people in the cells lining the walls were still unconscious. That combined with the darkness of the windowless building made it hard to make out who was who... But even then, it shouldn't have been this difficult to find Alkaline. With a grunt of frustration, she decided to evacuate Marie first.
Moving up the stairs at the end of the hall, the rhythmic banging hadn't stopped. In fact, it had gotten more violent. With a push against the cellar door, the sudden flood of light blinded her. Regaining her vision she was able to scout the surroundings.
They were still at the carnival, but it was in ruins. All of the tents and games they had entered mere hours ago were flattened and lit aflame. Standing on the fabric of a ruined circus tent, Alkaline, Tweehee and a third person stood opposite each other. Alkaline had his silver revolvers drawn, one pointed at each of his adversaries. Tweehee, the clown from earlier, spun a pair of daggers that were attached at the hilt via a chain. The third person was a woman with blond hair and red eyes. She wore a dark purple gothic lolita getup and wielded an umbrella-rifle hybrid that bore a similar style.
Noticing her escape, Alkaline's pupils widened before he disappeared from his spot. With a clang, he appeared again right in front of Alice. He had used his revolvers to intercept a dagger that had been thrown by Tweehee.
"Tsk! You won't let me have any fun will you, Al?" He pulled the dagger back into his hands via the chain before spinning it again.
"Gertrude, dear. Would you mind keeping an eye on those two?" He playfully waltzed up to the woman holding the umbrella- now identified as Gertrude- and clasped his hands together.
"Hey, kid," Alkaline spoke, eyes fixed on the two adversaries.
"Take her as far as you can from here. Got it? I'll cover you... So get running!" He spun one of the revolvers in his hand before firing off three bullets. Mid-flight, they seemingly ricocheted off the air itself. Bouncing in seemingly random directions, they create miniature explosions as they slam into Tweehee and Gertrude.
Giving him a nod, Alice breaks into a sprint towards the city lights past the smoke. Another clang rings out behind her as Alkaline blocks another chain. But she doesn't stop to check.
Meanwhile, the city guards finally manage to break through the barrier that was set up around the carnival site. A team of thirty spear-wielding guards rush through the smoke towards the fighting.
"Annoying... So damn annoying!" Tweehee screeches as he spins his chains manically, the blades of his daggers tearing into everything in its path.
Gasping for air, Alice manages to reach the soldiers who are rushing into the battlefield. As she explains that there are people trapped in the cellar, a whistling sound could be heard.
Looking up, the woman- Gertrude- hangs mid-air from her umbrella. The tip of said umbrella lets off a pinkish purple smoke. Following the trail of smoke, a projectile flies through the air towards the crowd of soldiers. The commander gives an order to duck for cover but it is too late. With a fiery explosion, Alice and the soldiers go flying in different directions.
Coughing up blood, Alice climbs to her knees.
'F-fuck! Damn it... It hurts!' The synchronization setting can only be turned down so much. Alice currently had it at its lowest: 10%. But even then, the pain of having a leg blown off is excruciating.
Marie lay about 5 meters away from her. Thankfully her injuries seemed much less severe, only a few scrapes.
"One." A woman's voice, followed by a bang could be heard behind nearby rubble. A man screamed for mercy, but there was none. "Two." A second bang could be heard.
Gritting her teeth. Alice began crawling over to the unconscious Marie with her one good leg.
'I didn't want any of this... I just wanted to get some easy money...'
The woman holding the umbrella-rifle walks around the corner towards Marie.
'But..!'
She raises her weapon, pointing it at Marie's heart. "Three." Just as her finger squeezes on the trigger of the rifle, Alice lunges forward with all of her strength. The bullet tears through her flesh before exploding. Her entire right shoulder and arm explode into a bloody mist as she squeals in pain.
"..! For an NPC..?" Her face curls in confusion. "They're not even real... Why?"
"m-mama... not again- please!" Alice sobs incoherently as her body begins dissolving into blue hexagons. Despite actively disintegrating, she still uses all of her remaining strength to shield Marie.
She raises her umbrella again and another bang can be heard. But this time, she did not pull the trigger. A hole appears in her forehead as blood trickles down. In the course of a second her body goes limp and falls to the ground. Turning into light just like Alice.
Alkaline stands behind where she once stood. Gun barrel still smoking. Holstering his pistols, he kneels beside the dying Alice. "Shh... It's okay. God, I've never been good at consoling people... Um..."
With a deep breath, he speaks. "Thanks, kid... You've done me a real favour. I got it from here."
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