"...ugh"
Avy groaned in pain. Her senses finally came back and she was able to feel how disgustingly painful her self-inflicted wound was. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes as she squeezed her arm tightly to prevent the blood from coming out until she decides what to do.
'Can I do it? Ares didn't say my magic is not nullified, but I don't know how to use the darkness to attack.'
She's not yet familiar with her power, she was hesitant if she could execute it successfully because if she doesn't, she would be dead meat no less than a minute later.
'It should work. It has to.'
She whispered words of encouragement to herself while still watching out for the bear. Once again, she breathed in and focused on her mind and imagination to do all the work. She has watched fantasy series on television back when she was still living in her old world, and Lucy never stopped bugging her about reading fantasy books until she was sick enough to know what will happen next. She's also confident about her visualizing skills. She just needs to fight and kill something for the first time in her whole existence.
How hard can it be?
Just a couple of seconds later, the blood coming from her arm eventually mimicked the image of a sword and a shield big enough to cover half of her upper body. It seems like blood manipulation lets the blood expand so that the ability user would be able to use it for a considerable amount of time without being drained empty of blood and die.
"H-ha! I-It worked-"
*ROARR!!!!*
Avy's little celebration was interrupted when the bear roared out loud, causing her to falter slightly. She clenched the grip of her crimson sword tightly and exhaled. Making sure Kill was out of the bear's sight, she ran to her left which the big animal immediately followed. Using the environment to her advantage, she went through trees with gaps not large enough for the bear to fit in. It made it way angrier than it already was and clawed the trunks of the trees violently that the smaller ones almost split in half.
Avy picked up a big rock the size of her fist and as if using her bleeding arm as a faucet, she coated it with blood and prayed for her success.
"Burn." She whispered to it and with all the strength that she got, pitched it to the bear.
It hit the bear's face before igniting the color of red, flames quickly spread on the feral bear's fur on his head. The animal cried loudly in agony as it tried to put it out by running into the closest thing to him. A big tree. Luckily, the rain wasn't able to kill the fire that easily. It wasn't just a normal one after all.
Avy took this chance to launch another fatal attack. She quickly ran towards the bear who had its back turned towards her and made sure to grip the sword as hard as she can. She let go of the shield and combined it with the sword to make it bigger and longer.
*stab*
It was a success. She managed to stab the bear.
But it wasn't enough to put an end to its life.
Feeling the pain on its body, the bear violently went amok and hit Avy with its arm in the process, sending her flying.
"Aahhck!!"
It all happened so fast. All she felt was the numbing pain of her back hitting the rough and hard surface of a tree before falling on the ground.
What.... just happened?
She couldn't breathe. Her whole body hurts. Her ears are ringing. Her head was spinning. It hurts. It hurts.
"Urgkhhh." she felt a gush of warm liquid coming out of her mouth, the rain still hasn't stopped yet and her body was being washed clean by the water from the sky. She wanted to sleep. Just lie down.
*growl*
But Kill was waiting for her.
That night was a full moon. And the bright moonlight seeped through the leaves on the tree branches towering above them. She was able to witness how the bear slowly made its way towards where Kill was.
"N-no. No."
Avy couldn't feel her legs. But she was able to lift herself a little with her knees and right hand.
"Stop. Stop it!" she desperately tried to run towards the bear. But she had no strength in her body after everything that she did.
He's going to die. Kill is going to die. Someone's going to die in front of her again.
"Ma fille chérie..."
"I love you, my darling daughter."
"Let's watch the snow together."
"Don't worry. I'll keep your hand warm."
"I SAID STOP!!!!!"
Along with the deafening sound of the thunder, Avy's voice echoed throughout the forest and as if the world suddenly stopped, they were enclosed in a transparent space and everything inside that small space, including the trees, plants bushes, grass, and every single thing withered and died.
And even the bear didn't escape its cruel fate.
~~~
Ares, who was on the other side of the forest also felt the sudden change made by his master.
'She's using it?!'
How did that happen? She hasn't even trained herself to take that much burden on her body, it wouldn't manifest unless she really wishes for it. He was sure she's doing just fine since she wasn't calling for him. Did she perhaps encounter an obstacle on her way out?
"Avy? Avy get a hold of yourself! Don't take too much!!"
He tried to communicate with her through their connection but he didn't hear any response. He cursed under his breath and started running in the direction where he remembered Avy went. If she manifests her power now, he would be sucked in the darkness unconsciously for him to regain his power. But that would be disadvantageous since he would be locked inside for quite a time and wouldn't be able to help Avy the whole time. That means she would be alone while finding a safe place for that kid.
"Damn it." He whispered as he felt his whole body returning to smoke. There is nothing he could do now.
'I'm sorry Avy. You have to do this on your own.' he thought to himself as he surrendered his body to the darkness.
Of course, Avy's condition was far worse than he had imagined. She lied down on the dirty ground gasping for air and clenching her chest tightly. All her wounds had healed but the pain she felt became much more unbearable after all the black smoke entered her body.
"Ahhgg... stop...stop..." she begged the pain to stop, she couldn't describe the feeling as if she was being set on fire while also freezing to death. Tears trickled down her face, why did she go out of the mansion again?
Right. Because of the kid that she met two weeks ago. Knowing only his name and his age, she wondered why she felt connected with him somehow, to the point that she didn't intend to leave him behind even after suffering countless troubles.
But she's dying in pain. Can she really save both of them? She was never strong physically, and the only thing she can boast about is the smarts that she honed for the past nineteen years of her existence, aside from that, there is nothing really special about herself. She was wealthy in her past life, with a loving family and a good friend, she lived a comfortable life and had no unresolved trauma whatsoever. She just lived simply until now. Why does she have to go through all this?
'You must be fearless for you not to lose people.'
Avy stopped and looked around her. Did she just hear a voice? That's not Ares for sure, because the voice belonged to a woman. But thanks to that, she finally snapped out of her thoughts and was able to hear Kill's voice.
"Ma..."
"K-kill." she hurriedly picked herself up and immediately went to the child. Her body felt heavy, the green dress that she was wearing was soaked with rainwater, she also looked filthy because of the mud and the bloodstains covering her all over, but nevertheless, she didn't care.
"Kill? Hey. Say something." she shook his body gently but a couple of seconds passed and she still didn't get any response. Her hand was shaking as she put it near the child's nose to check.
"No, no, no." her heart dropped.
He was no longer breathing.
"No. You can't die. You can't die." she took him in her arms and desperately put her ears on his chest. She couldn't hear anything except the sound of the rain. She held her breath and focused.
*dudum*
His heart was still beating.
Although really faintly, Avy held onto this chance and once again picked up Kill in her arms before running out to leave the forest.
She didn't know where Ares was, and she didn't bother to know. Her hands were already full of the current situation and she doesn't have the time and strength to worry about a fully grown man. Fortunately, the rain has stopped and they finally left the forest. She was already panicking internally because Kill was no longer conscious and his voice that calmed her before disappeared.
She doesn't have the time nor does she have the strength to even run back to the mansion, Kill was already on his deathbed.
She only knows one person who she can ask for help.
The town was dark and the only light that illuminated her way was the ones seeping through the windows coming from the candles inside the houses and establishments. There was no one outside except her, yet she still pushed her luck and went to the place she put her bet on.
And at last, Lady luck finally smiled at her the first time that night.
Esmour Warde stood in front of his shop, locking the doors.
"P-pops." she said, calling his attention.
The old man swerved his neck in her direction and saw her state. Her hair was a complete mess, she was drenched and smudged with mud, her dress was all torn and dirty, and there was blood all over her with a bloodied child in her arms.
"Avy?!!" Mr. Warde said in surprise and hurriedly approached the lady.
"Help. H-he's dying." Avy stammered, looking down at Kill.
The old man, although confused and at lost for words, didn't question her any longer.
"Give him to me." He told her and made her follow him.
They moved fast until they stopped in front of a diner.
It was the same diner where she and the three kids ate.
"Emerald! Open the door!" the old man yelled. A couple of seconds later, a woman with long brown hair and emerald green eyes opened the door. She was also the lady who served them when they came into that place.
"Oh my goodness, Father?! What happened?!" the woman exclaimed, she opened the door wider and let them in. Her gaze landed on Avy and met her eyes and immediately knew her identity.
"Take care of the lady first, we'll talk later." Sir Esmour was about to walk away but Avy spoke.
"I-I'll go with you."
"But Miss-"
"Please. I'll go once his condition becomes stable." She told Emerald who no longer forced her to come. With Kill in his arms, Mr. Warde entered another door at the back of the counter followed by the two ladies.
Behind the diner was a big and cozy house where the owner lived, Mr. Warde put Kill on a bed inside of the rooms they owned.
"What happened to this boy Avy?" he asked Avy who sat on a chair given by Emerald next to the bed as he checked Kill's condition.
"He was exposed to that girl's magic less than two weeks ago. I didn't know it would affect him this much." Avy answered, staring at the child's sleeping face.
"Don't tell me..." Mr. Warde trailed off. "This child a beast?"
"Why? Are you not going to treat him if I told you he is a beast child?" Avy's face, whilst still exhausted, didn't come off as a pushover, rather, she looked way more intimidating that usual.
The old man sighed. "Emerald. Prepare to assist me."
Avy was still not relieved, but at least she's no longer panicking. Ever since she came into that world, misfortunes seem to follow her everywhere. And that night was indeed one of the longest ones she ever had.
~~~
Sup homies. How was the wait? Did you like the chapter? Do you want me to keep Killer alive?
Why? Are you gonna give me money if I did?
Just kidding. Feel free to criticize my shitty writing skills, I will do my best to improve my work. And by the way, MY CHRISTMAS BREAK JUST STARTED!! *victory dance* I'll have more time to write and update! Happy Holidays!!
Wow. I dropped so many hints in this one, but I doubt you will be able to pinpoint which of them are hints though *laughs in dumbass writing skills* But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you when I see you. I'm out.