Part 3
Seri sprinted through the trees until she reached a clearing—wide, open, far enough from the camp to avoid any accidents.
"Hey, you robe-wearing idiots! Do you really think you can catch me?" Seri shouted, spinning sharply with a mischievous smile that promised chaos.
The two acolytes chasing her stopped a few meters away. One of them scowled.
"What an arrogant elf..."
"No matter how strong you are," added the other, "we outnumber you."
Seri didn't flinch.
She raised her staff as if she were about to perform on stage, not enter a fight.
"You'll see what happens when you underestimate me. Heh heh... Hope you like fire as much as I do."
The air around her began to shimmer—literally.
Heat concentrated at the core of her staff, growing denser, more alive.
"Fireball!"
The fireball roared forth like a meteor. Upon impact, it exploded, sending up a column of flames that rocked the clearing.
One acolyte was flung backward like a ragdoll.
"Was that a basic fireball?!" the other shouted, stumbling behind a barely-sustained light barrier.
"Pretty impressive for a basic spell, right?" Seri said proudly. "Although... I do have a tiny problem with mana control."
Without wasting time, she aimed again. This time, the fiery sphere was the size of a full pumpkin.
"Holy Ray!" the acolyte shouted, raising his staff toward the sky.
A pillar of light immediately descended, like a divine judgment.
"Damn it!" Seri muttered, dodging purely on reflex as the ground cracked beneath the impact.
"Don't just stand there—help me!" the light mage shouted at his companion.
"R-right! Stone Shoot!"
A rock shot forward, slicing through the air like a projectile. Seri braced herself to dodge—
But something stopped her.
"Huh...? What...?"
She glanced down at her feet.
Bindings of light coiled around her ankles—tight as chains.
"When did they—?!"
The rock struck her squarely.
Her body was hurled several meters, bouncing across the ground before lying still.
"That's what you get for being cocky," one acolyte sneered.
Seri struggled to rise.
Her shoulder was bleeding.
One trembling hand pressed against it while her staff lay a few meters away, half-buried in the grass.
"You know... the only reason you're still breathing... is because I promised Kaito... and the forest... not to burn everything down."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Oh, how touching—you care about nature," the acolyte mocked.
She lifted her gaze.
And her eyes were burning.
A soft flame began to envelop her.
At first, it was just a warm breeze.
Then it grew—intense, fierce, alive.
Her blood boiled—not with rage... but with absolute clarity.
The flames licked at her wounds, sealing them with an amber glow. Every breath pulsed in rhythm with the fire.
"Now I see why she was so confident..." the second acolyte muttered, taking a step back.
"We've never seen a fire elf before."
"Even if you heal, you don't stand a chance," the first growled. "You're no match for us."
"And who decided that?"
"You?"
"The Church?
"The Kingdom?" she replied, retrieving her staff with a simple flick of her hand.
Her legs stood firm.
Her expression was clearer than ever.
"I'm tired of letting others decide for me."
She raised her arm and pointed to the sky.
"Ignaris Spirit!"
A figure of pure fire materialized before her.
It had the grace of a dancer and the presence of a deity.
Its body was sculpted from living embers, its hair a flowing torch.
Its eyes... those of an ancient guardian.
"W-what is that...?" one of the acolytes stammered.
"Ignaria. Show them why you don't provoke an elemental spirit," Seri commanded.
The entity nodded gently.
Then, like a living arrow of fire, it launched toward them.
"Holy Protection!" a barrier of light enveloped the two acolytes.
"Our god protects us! It doesn't matter how strong you are...!"
Ignaria halted before them.
Without a word, she raised her fist—and drove it directly into the first acolyte's stomach.
The impact shattered the barrier with a crisp, brutal sound.
The mage collapsed backward, unconscious in an instant.
"W-what was that...?" the other acolyte stammered, his face pale. "Light magic shouldn't fall so easily to fire..."
Seri smiled calmly. A confident, almost nostalgic smile.
"That's the mistake everyone makes... believing Ignaria is just fire."
Her eyes gleamed as she looked at her summoned spirit. The dancing figure before her wasn't just an invocation. It was a symbol.
"In truth... she's the fighting spirit of my people," she said, her voice firm and serene.
Ignaria turned toward her briefly.
Her silhouette was identical to Ignaria Flames, the legendary leader of Seri's tribe.
For a moment, her legend seemed to burn anew in that clearing.
"It's time to finish this. End it, Ignaria," Seri ordered, pointing at the last acolyte.
The spirit nodded and shot toward her target at full speed.
"Mercy!" the acolyte begged, paralyzed by fear.
"Ignaria!"
The fire-clad fist stopped mere centimeters from his face. The acolyte couldn't even breathe from the trembling.
"Take your companion and disappear from my sight," Seri said firmly. "And listen carefully... if you attack us again, I won't be merciful next time."
The mage frantically nodded, slung the unconscious one over his shoulders, and fled without looking back.
Seri exhaled with relief, relaxing her shoulders.
"Thank goodness..." she murmured, regaining her composure. "I need to get back to Kaito."
She glanced toward Ignaria. The spirit returned her look with a warm smile.
Without another word, both of them turned at the same time and sprinted back toward the camp.
Back at the camp, sparks flew every time blades clashed.
Eve exchanged precise blows with the Church assassin—her kukris vibrating with electrical surges while the enemy's daggers moved like extensions of his hatred.
Every strike was like a beat. A sharp dance without music, but full of intention.
"Tch... what an insufferable servant," the assassin growled, frustrated that he couldn't break through her defenses.
"Response: Please, average human. I humbly request you desist in your attempt to eliminate Master," Eve replied with perfect neutrality, spinning on her axis to deflect another attack.
"Sorry, but I have orders to fulfill," the assassin said, lunging to the side.
"Shadow Illusion!"
His figure fragmented instantly.
Several identical copies appeared around Eve, moving in perfect synchronization.
But the automaton didn't budge.
Her face remained expressionless. Her violet eyes glowed with mechanical calm, as if seeing multiple threats made no difference.
Then, she leapt backward with flawless precision, spun midair, and landed lightly outside the circle of clones.
She turned toward Kaito, who still seemed unaware of the imminent danger.
With her left hand, she lifted two fingers in a "V" shape over her left eye—a stylized, almost playful gesture.
"Eve Eve... Beam!"
A beam of light burst forth from her eye—precise, direct, with no margin for error.
The ray cut across the camp and struck a figure that had barely become visible behind Kaito.
The real assassin.
He was violently thrown back, crashing against the ground and leaving a scorched mark in the earth.
Kaito spun around sharply, stunned.
"What... was that?"
Eve lowered her hand casually and answered with absolute calm:
"Interference detected. Non-lethal elimination applied. Objective: master's protection."
Her voice was serene, as if she had just cleaned a teacup instead of firing an eye laser into the face of a professional assassin.
Seri returned to the camp accompanied by Ignaria's spirit.
The Church paladin, seeing her emerge unharmed, instinctively took a step back.
"If that elf's back... it means Marco and Paul are down. And after that beam, I doubt Falco can continue."
His voice trembled for the first time since the fight had begun.
"You'd better surrender," Seri snapped, standing firm.
"I'm sorry... but I can't afford to fail. If I do... they'll execute me," the paladin said, his tense voice searching for courage where there was none left.
He whistled once.
From the bushes, a soldier emerged. But he wasn't alone.
Beside him walked a delicate-looking girl, her head bowed low, her aura dimmed.
Her fluffy ears and tail betrayed her nature: a kitsune.
A chain extended from her neck to the soldier's hand, as if she were just another item in his inventory.
In her hands, the girl held a light wooden staff, decorated with strips of white zigzag paper.
The shide floated gently, like magical wings caught in the breeze.
"This is my trump card," the paladin said, regaining some of his former arrogance.
The kitsune lifted her gohei with a slight motion.
The air vibrated.
A tremor spread through the ground, as if the forest itself had begun to breathe.
"I detect a hostile presence… rising dark energy," Eve announced in her neutral tone.
The footsteps grew louder.
Heavier.
Closer.
And then—with a brutal crash that toppled a tree—a red oni emerged from the forest.
It towered over three meters tall. Its fangs gleamed under the sunset light, and in its hand, it wielded a stone club larger than a human body.
"What... what is that thing doing here?" Seri asked, eyes wide.
Eve stepped forward, positioning herself between Kaito and the danger.
"Master, you will be safer behind me," she said, her tone unchanged—but her gaze hardened.
Kaito swallowed hard.
The tension was different now.
He had never seen that expression—neither in Eve, nor in Seri.
His eyes drifted toward the kitsune.
"So she's the summoner..."
The young girl raised her head.
For an instant, her eyes met Kaito's.
No words were spoken.
Just a whisper across her lips, almost invisible... but clear as a scream inside his mind:
"Save me."
Kaito didn't know who that girl was.
But in that moment... he knew he had to save her.