"…Wew. That was clean"
Auel pulled a rope from his pocket and tossed it to Rikka
"Quick, tie them up"
They worked fast, dragging the bodies into the bushes and binding them tightly
Rain began to fall harder
They entered the ruins quickly
Inside the ruins, darkness swallowed them immediately
"Hey it's too dark" Rikka muttered "I can't see anything"
"I-I can light it up-"
"No" Auel cut in "Rikka, use your flame instead"
"…? Why?"
"We cannot let them know our location"
Rikka light up his sword
"Hey, can you turn it down a little bit?"
The flame flared too bright
Auel raised his hand to shield his eyes "Turn it down"
"Hehe… sorry-sorry"
The light dimmed
They started to explore the ruin carefully
Rikka in the front, Auel middle, followed by Erin
Slow steps. Tight corners. Pauses before every turn
But nothing
No voices. No movement. No signs of life
"Hey are you sure this is their base camp?" Rikka whispered
"You saw it with your own eyes right; those bandits took the body inside the ruins. We have to find those-"
Step!
Auel froze and looked down
A faint glow spread beneath his feet.
A magical circle
Light surged
And in the next instant, Auel vanished
"What" they both shocked
Rikka turned sharply
"Auel, where are you"
Erin spun around "W-where did he go?!"
Nothing, no sound, no trace
"Tch… what the hell's happening"
Then, Rikka's expression hardened
"Erin, stay close"
"W-what is it?"
"They're coming"
Footsteps echoed through the dark
Rikka extinguished the flame on his sword
The corridor fell into near-complete darkness
The steps stopped
Rikka took his stance, focus
Suddenly a knife shot out from the shadows
Clang!
Rikka deflected it instantly and lunged forward, reigniting his blade mid-step
Light burst across the room
Two bandits, a dagger and a sword
They rushed him
"Tch" one of them swung their dagger
Too slow, Rikka slipped past the first strike, then a counter attack
Slash!
A clean hit across the chest
Then a second one came in immediately
Rikka deflected it with ease and then
Slash!
Another direct hit
He exhaled, and then another knife shot to him from the shadow
He deflected it again
"Tch! Come out you bastard"
He rushed forward, A third bandit charged from the side
Axe raised
But it too slow, Rikka swung his blade
Slash!
"Tch, too easy" Rikka walked back toward Erin "Hey, let's tie them up and find-"
Before he could finish talking, he felt another danger
Close… really close
Immediately he turned his back and rose his blade in front of him
Clang!
He blocked an attack, but no one was there
Then suddenly a figure flickered into view.
Invisibility? Tch…
A man came out from his invisibility and jumped back
The man landed lightly, stepping back with a grin
"Heh… you're good"
"R-Rikka you alright?"
"Yeah… We need to focus" Rikka tightened his grip "This guy is different"
In front of them a man stood up, straight
A tall man, with white skin and long blonde hair
He twirled a knife between his fingers, smiling, looking down on them
So, he was then one who threw the knife
The bandit looked at them, analyzing
That guy can use fire and nothing more…But that girl, she hasn't done anything yet
Fireballs erupted toward him
He sidestepped easily
That's one
Rikka dashed in, blade blazing
The bandit blocked it and then slipped back, flicking his wrist, throwing his knife
But it passed through Rikka… It was for Erin
"Earth wall"
The ground grumbling and rose instantly, intercepting the blade
That's two
Rikka pressed forward, launching another attack
But the bandit just grinned and his right hand moved, a subtle gesture
"Rikka watch out!"
Stab!
Rikka's body jerked
The knife on the ground suddenly flied toward Rikka and pierced his side
What… but how?
Then another gesture, it ripped free, floating, hovering beside the bandit
The bandit took a glance at Erin and rushed forward, the knife was following him, floating
"Lightning spark"
That's three
The bandit leapt over it, landing behind Erin
He took another knife from his sleeves and strike
"Wind gale"
A burst of wind slammed him
A burst of wind slammed into him mid-strike
He couldn't dodge and pushed back
He steadied himself, eyes narrowing
Tch…That's quite a surprise, but it's fine, two more and she is out of mana
He moved his hand again creating another gesture, then the knife flied toward Erin with a high speed
"Earth wall"
Another wall created and blocked the knife
Heh… One more
"Enhance agility"
He vanished forward, faster, he took another knife from his sleeves
Running along the wall, slipping past her defenses
Then he threw one of his knives
But Rikka was already there and intercepted
The bandit landed on the ground and jumped forward
With another blade on his hand, he stroked forward
Stab!
The blade drove into Rikka's stomach
Rikka's body tensed, but he didn't stop, then Rikka Slashed upward
But the bandit had already jumped back
"Rikka… Your wounds"
"It's fine, keep focus"
The bandit rose both of his hand and moved it rapidly, creating gesture
The knives rose, even the one embedded in Rikka tore itself free
They hovered
Then with a high speed the knives attacked from every direction
Deflect, step, twist
Too fast, too many
Cuts formed, shoulder, leg, side
Another knife slipped through
Blood spilled
But he kept standing. "Erin stand back"
Then the bandit took another knife and rushed in again
He created another gesture, the knives flied back and floating around him
Rikka prepared and launched a strike
The bandit blocked it and one of the knife stabbed Rikka's shoulder
Rikka didn't stop he tried to launched another attack but easily blocked
Another knife stabbed him on the leg
"Fireballs"
The knives intercepted midair, cutting through the flames
That's the last, now you're done
With a high speed the bandit lunged toward Erin
"Wind Gale"
The blast slammed him back again, he landed hard, eyes widening slightly
What… how come she still has mana
He stood up and rushed forward again; this time he created a gesture and the knives floating around him
Well, you have a lot of mana right, but how much is it?
Then he launched 2 knives forward
"Earth wall"
Another wall blocked the knives
Then he ran on the wall and looked at the gap between the walls
He launched his knife through the gap, but Erin dodge it
He dashed and entered through the gap and immediately launched another knife
But Rikka stood up and deflected it
What? Tch… But that's fine, that girls should be out of mana, right?
He dashed forward again and gesturing both of his hands making the knives floating
"Erin now"
"Blinding light"
A burst of light exploded, blinding the bandit's sight
"WHAT"
Then Rikka dashed forward, with his sword surged along his blade
But the bandit could open his eyes again and blocked it
The bandit jumped back creating a gap
Tch… Just how much mana does that girl has… He used more than 8 already
He created a gesture and the knives floating around him
"Fireballs"
Fireballs shot toward him
Heh… another cheap tricks
But Erin didn't stop, she casted another magic
"Wind gale"
The flames surged, fed by the wind, growing, expanding
"WHAT"
A big fireball launched towards him and then explode
Smoke swallowed everything
Then from within, an arc of flame cut through the haze
Hit!
The arc hit the bandit directly and the fog slowly thinned, revealing both side
The bandit stood, burned
Rikka was already moving
The bandit rose his knife ready for a close combat
Rikka started with a downward slash
But easily blocked
Rikka didn't stop, he then spun
The bandit retreated
Before letting him landed, Rikka slashed the air creating an arc of flames
Slash!
Another direct hit to the chest
The bandit staggered
Rikka dashed forward, ready for the final hit
The bandit didn't want to lose either he creating a gesture, the knives launched toward Rikka
But the knives moved slower than before and Rikka easily dodge the attack while at the same time he slashed the air creating arc of flames
The bandit already out of power took all the attack and finally Rikka launched the final blow
Slash!
Body dropped, the bandit finally defeated
Rikka stood still for a moment
Breathing heavy, blood dripping
"Rikka, your wounds, let me heal it"
"Yeah, thank you" Rikka already exhausted, and looked around" Let's quickly tie them up and then find Auel"
He let out a tired breath as she began healing
Warm light wrapped around him.
Before they could finish healing the wound, the ruins trembled, dust fell from above, the ground shook beneath their feet
"What the… what is it right now?"