Chapter XL: Breathless

            Entangling roots sprout directly from the Demon’s body and wrapped around the former Wind Elemental’s neck making her drop her bowgun. Solis reacts quickly but he was dragged by the leg and thrown away along with Charlotte and Tenenbaum before he could save Sierra.

 

            “Sierra!”, the Solar Elemental screams.

 

            Luckily, the rest of the group was within earshot of his voice. In an instant they all sprang into action to assess the situation, except one person in particular who was wearing a lab coat.

 

            “Aren’t you going?”, Cisqua says with a teasing voice.

 

            “They can handle it. Besides, Elias is probably done with fixing the ship right now.”

 

            She begins to make her way to the crash site.

 

            “Are you sure you’re okay with leaving your sister to some strangers?”

 

            “It’s not about that. I just don’t care about her.”

 

            “Really? You’re not even the slightest bit concerned if she dies?”

 

            Having enough of her partner’s ranting, she snaps her finger and a pile of dirt rises from underground and traps Cisqua.

 

            “Hey! It’s dark in here!”

 

            Walking away without saying a word, she makes her way to the crash site and sees that the dome of earth that she erected was still intact save for that hole in the wall where she was dragged out by Norroth.

 

            She enters the unnatural landform and scans the area. Faint sobs of a young woman can be heard inside as she moves deeper into the cave, and to her surprise, she finds Elias... But there’s something odd in his current position.

 

            He was lying on his back and Maise was holding him up. His face looked as if it were spray-painted with crimson and his eyes looked like they were about to fade into its own whiteness. Adjusting her eyes, she sighted more than a dozen raptors bludgeoned to death on the ground. It seems the unusable debris from the ship were used as a weapon to fend them off, and Elias had to pay the price somehow...

 

            “Oh, my God...”

 

            Therese covered her mouth as she found Elias with his left arm torn off. Those monsters must have bit it off his shoulder when he mistakenly let his guard down. There might be a way to save him, but it looks extremely unlikely because the blood won’t stop.

 

            “What happened to him?”, Therese asked, trying to keep a straight face.

 

            “Eli... I’m so sorry...” Maise whispers to her dying brother without even noticing Therese. “If I’d known that this is all that’s waiting for us I never should have let you come here! Come on, Eli! You can’t die here! I’m sorry, alright! I didn’t what to do!” She clasps Elias’ lifeless body and buries her face in his chest which has already been long deprived of warmth. “Please... Don’t leave me! Please... God, please don’t take him from me!”

 

            Seeing Maise have such high regard for her older sibling despite never having shown any sign of appreciation led Therese to say the things she’d want to say to her little sister if she were in Elias’ place.

 

            “Are you kidding me! Are you f*cking kidding me! Why do you care if he dies? You don’t give a damn about that! You’re younger! You’re not supposed to give a damn about someone’s problems; you’re supposed to be stupid and ignorant!”

 

            “What-“

 

            “Do you honestly think crying like that is going to help? Of course, you do, you immature brat! Life isn’t that easy but you can just do whatever the hell you want because it’ll be my responsibility anyway! Right? Right, Sierra!”

 

            “Um... Eli, I think we took it a little too far.”

 

            “Yeah... I guess we did”, Elias’ lifeless body speaks up as his eyes leaf up.

 

            Miraculously, he was able to lift himself up with his right elbow until he was on his feet with his left arm still bleeding profusely.

 

            “Sorry about that, Therese...” Maise apologizes with a forced laugh. “It was supposed to be a little joke but...”

 

            The avulsion from Elias’ left arm was immediately repaired when the bits and pieces of metals and gears lying around were magnetized and fashioned into his fully functional appendage.

 

            Elias was never an Aristocrat so he was given the option to have his arm replaced by an engineered limb capable of storing mana even though his genes were incompatible. As a result, this guy turned into what I’d like to call a cyborg who has the ability to control-

 

            Therese just sliced off his new arm with Capernaum reformed into a sword!

 

            “Ouch...”

 

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            “Stay back, you mindless savages!”

 

            It’s pointless, Echidna. You’re surrounded by four Elementals. You might as well just let go of the girl and submit to your fate.

 

            “It’s pointless, Echidna”, Mea forewarns. “You’re surrounded by four Elementals. You might as well let go of Sierra and submit to your fate.”

 

            *Sigh*... Whatever...

 

            “You don’t seem to understand, Darkness Elemental”, Echidna says while raising Sierra a bit higher but loosening the tight grip on her neck. “Whether or not I do what is right, I will be damned, and I will not go down without dragging you all with me! You have no idea how much we have suffered in our living state...”

 

            Oh, great... She’s monologue-ing.

 

            “Over a century ago, The Kingdom of Xan had finally united Humanity and liquidated all those who opposed her ideals. The bloodshed all over the world was over, and the people were free from the responsibility of freedom thanks to the absolute will of our leader, King Orion. It was as if utopia was attainable because Humanity believed in the same thing due to the eradication of the division known as ‘Religion’ that tore apart our beliefs.

 

            “But a foolish man under the alias of ‘Don Saturnino’ was secretly in opposition of this creed, claiming that there is a Greater Being and we should renounce our beliefs lest we be deemed blasphemers in His eyes. And you... You Elementals supported his idea until he was able to turn our own people against us! And for that, we take our revenge straight from the depths of hell in order to-

 

            “Are you f*cking brats listening!”

 

            *YAAWWN* *Cough* Oh, is it over? Damn... That was so boring it even put me to sleep. Listening to this b*tch is like being fed a [1]Cooked Mandrake.

 

            ...

 

            Double-damn! Sierra and the rest are asleep too!

 

            “Hmm?” Solis rubs his eyes and wakes up the rest of them. “Hey look, the old lady’s done talking.”

 

            “Who are you calling old, you twit!”

 

            “...Lis-kun... Ohaiiyo...” Mea wakes-up half-asleep.

 

            “Eve?” Credo wakes-up.

 

            “Credo... What happened?” Anna wakes-up.

 

            “Hey, Eve. Are you alright?”, Solis asks while shaking her.

 

            “I want a good morning kiss!”, Mea suddenly demands, eyes still closed.

 

            “What do you think you’re doing you two-faced man-eater!” And finally, Sierra wakes-up, still bound to the roots.

 

            “Shut your traps! You think this is a game!” Echidna yells at them, waking up Mea.

 

            “Is that b*tch done talking yet?” Mea rubs her eyes. “Let’s just finish her off already.”

 

            “How dare you take me for a-“

 

            A flame shot went straight through Echidna’s left eye and burned her face spontaneously thanks to Anna. It was not enough to kill her, but it was enough to make her drop Sierra.

 

            Acting quickly, Sierra picks up her discarded bowgun and angles it upward to shoot three Atlanta Shells along the Demon’s body. She was now incapable of taking root to obtain sustenance from the soil and so she fell with ease from such feeble attacks.

 

            “That’ll keep her from yapping”, Tenenbaum comments.

 

            What? Were you expecting an epic fight between 6 Elementals and a Primal Demon?

 

            The body falls frail to the ground as the flames faded from its flesh, leaving a heap of singed flesh and a pile of ashes.

 

            “You will all die here...”

 

            With her dying breath, Echidna mustered the last reserve of miasma she had and sent a shock wave across the forest. The trees shook as their roots were blackened by the immense Demonic power Echidna released. Soon, their leaves started to wither and their barks started to melt off their trunks, and from the corroded remains came a poisonous fog that slowly filled the air. Recognizing the familiar stench of death, Credo hurriedly covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

 

            “Don’t breathe in the air”, he warns them. “We’re leaving this place; let’s go.”

 

            With nothing to cover themselves with, the Anima hurriedly snuggled themselves inside Solis’ coat for protection. I have a theory that the Anima are attracted to him because his genes are programmed to...

 

            Whoops! I almost spoiled you there, dear reader!

 

            “Come on, Sierra”, Solis calls her whilst trying not to breathe the gas.

 

            Sierra took one last look at her foster mother’s murderer and spat on her corpse.

 

            “Honourable”, Solis says with a smile as a compliment but Sierra didn’t see it because he had his mouth covered.

 

            She shrugs as a reply and turns her back on the Demon.

 

            However, her demonstration of indifference must have enraged the evil spirit. Boils started to puff from the dead body as it began to speak, reanimated once more:

 

            “Cursed be the ground and those born from it.”

 

            The throbbing growths explode with vicious corrosive blood riddled with black particles. The sudden burst scattered the blood, and Sierra was ever so unfortunate to have it splashed on her back. Her coat was soaked with the liquid as it burned through her clothing, but it didn’t stop there. Soon, it dug into her flesh and melted off her skin, yielding excruciating pain. If she hadn’t worn that coat designed to repel monsters the burns would have dissipated every last layer of her flesh until her spine was exposed.

 

            Sierra wails frantically from the pain with tears in her eyes, and before she knew it she had already breathed in enough gas to render her unconscious despite the stinging pain from the smoking acid.

 

            Trying to stay awake, she kept her eyes open for as long as she could, and the last thing she saw was Solis foolishly calling out to her and breathing in the fumes, leading the Anima to scatter from him and causing him to suffer the same fate.

 

            “You idiot... You should have stayed out of this...”

 

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            Sierra’s eyes open. There was no pain anymore as her senses were dulled by the smoke earlier. A dreadful feeling crept upon her mind while she eases herself on her feet, but the dread was overcome by the peaceful scenery in front of her.

 

            An overlooking view of a lush forest was spread before her. The scent of sampaguita buds behind her refreshed her breath, and she couldn’t help but enjoy the view when she realizes that this place is a piece of her memory.

 

            Turning around, she finds the old hidden entrance to the house that she and her sister used to live in. It was a rolling stone door that could only be opened by a retinal scanner hidden within the trunk of a tree.

 

            She peeks through the hole and sees that the retinal scanner was still intact until someone greeted her.

 

            “Sierra, I told you not to stay outside for too long.”

 

            It’s been a while since she’s heard this voice. It almost makes her want to cry when she heard it.

 

            “Mom?”, she lays her eyes on the speaker after a slight hesitation.

 

            Sierra had an invaluable amount of sentiment for this woman. Although she was created for the purpose of cleansing the world, her mother never pressured her to learn how to use her powers. The kindness that she hasn’t felt for three years was now in front of her, and it left her speechless to see the same smile on her mother’s face.

 

            “Did you just get here, Sierra?”

 

            “Um...”

 

            “Hey, come on. Is there something in my face?”, she asks, probing her face with her fingers.

 

            “No... That’s not... possible...”

 

            “What are you talking about?” She gives the girl a worried look. “You know, why don’t we just get inside? I got some sukiyaki and I’m gonna need your help to cook it.” She holds up a bag of ingredients for today’s lunch.

 

            The hidden rolling stone door opens and Therese comes out without her lab coat.

 

            “Welcome back, Mom. What’s for lunch?” She sees her sister. “Oh, Sierra’s home too.”

 

            “Well, I have some sukiyaki but I don’t know how you two want me to cook it.”

 

            “Really? Let me see.”

 

            Therese takes the bag from her foster mother and they both head inside the cave. Sierra, however, was still dumbfounded from what she saw.

 

            “Sierra? Aren’t you coming?”, Therese asks her. “Oh, I get it. You want to go outside to see that guy again, don’t you?”, she teases her sister.

 

            “A guy?” Her mother plays along.

 

            “That’s right! I think his name was... Solis, right?”

 

            Sierra couldn’t process the things that were happening. Her mother is alive and Therese is talking to her without giving her the cold shoulder. She’s every bit suspicious as she is confused but... maybe this isn’t so bad...

 

            “Mom”, she calls out.

 

            “Yes, Sierra?”

 

            “I’m home!”

 

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            For the first time in three bitter years, Sierra was able to sit down and share a meal with her family. Her mother told stories about the things that’s been happening in towns like she always does, mostly on the topic of rumours and various biases from merchants.

 

            “...And then this other guy says there will be a price hike coming up on gasoline but no one even uses those things anymore. Anyone who’s anyone can buy a mana crystal in replacement of fossil fuels, right?”

 

            As they spoke about current events on the economy, Sierra realizes that there’s something missing...

 

            “Therese?”

 

            “Hmm?”

 

            “Where’s Cisqua?”

 

            “Who’s Cisqua?”

 

            Sierra drops her silverware and begins hyperventilating.

 

            Took you long enough to notice, didn’t you, Sierra?

 

            “Wait a second... This can’t be right! Charlotte was always by my side... Cisqua was always with Therese... And mom is already...

 

            “Dead...”

 

            She stands and backs away from the table cautiously.

 

            “Sierra? You’ve been acting weird today... Is there something wrong?” Therese approaches her.

 

            “S-Stay back!”

 

            “Sierra”, her mother worriedly rushes from her chair to calm the girl down.

 

            “Get away from me!”

 

            She runs away from their kitchen and made her way outside through the hidden exit. She didn’t even know where her legs were taking her but she didn’t care as long as it was away from that wretched place.

 

            “I’m gonna get sucked into this. This isn’t real... This can’t be real!”

 

            She sprinted through the forest until she was breathless. Her knees fell exhausted on the ground after such a long run but she couldn’t seem to escape the illusion.

 

            “I have to get out of here.”

 

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            The rest of the group are lost in the smoke and they can’t seem to find Solis and Sierra, not to mention their Anima.

 

            “Where are those two?” Mea looks around but the smoke has obstructed her field of vision. “How the hell did we lose them anyway? Sierra was screaming earlier, wasn’t she?”

 

            “Yeah, that’s why we have to find them”, Credo says, face still covered.

 

            “And how do you suppose we do that?” Anna asks.

 

            “Credo, I can’t see the way to the crash site from this fog”, Lanette reports. “We might need Miss Sierra’s autotracker to get back.”

 

            “Yeah... But that thing is with Solis...”

 

            “What do we do now, Credo? I’m freezing here”, Anna remarks. That small piece of armour doesn’t look very warm to me neither.

 

            “For the time being, just stay together and find a way to get to the crash site.”

 

            “What about Sierra and Solis?”, Mea asks.

 

            “I’ll look for them. They couldn’t have wandered that far.”

 

            “That won’t be necessary”, a voice spoke from the fog.

 

            “Who’s there?” Credo readies his weapon with his free hand.

 

            From the fog came Therese with a piece of cloth tied around her head to mask her nose and her mouth. She was also holding onto Sierra’s Elemental Matrix and Cisqua on her shoulder.

 

            “Oh, it’s you”, Anna greets crudely. “Are Elias and Maise alright?”

 

            “They’re starting up the ship. You guys should get there too.”

 

            “I’ll lead the way”, Cisqua happily announces.

 

            “What about you? How are you going to find them?”, Credo questions.

 

            “The Elemental Matrix is a homing device. I’ll get her and Solis back as soon as I can.”

 

            “I’ll come with you”, Mea suggests.

 

            Therese shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

 

            “You’ll need this.” Credo tosses his scarf toward Mea. “If anything comes out, you won’t be able to fight and hold your breath with one hand.”

 

            “Thanks.”

 

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            “Why am I here?”

 

            Solis looks around the pitch black darkness. The only thing his eyes could see was Echidna standing in front of him.

 

            “You’re in my Blood Well but since you’re an Elemental, I can’t use my powers on you, not when I’m this weakened state. You should be immune from the effects of illusion from the smoke.”

 

            “So now I just have to kill you to get out, right?”

 

            “Perhaps... But my death will lead those affected by the illusion to perish as well.”

 

            “You mean Sierra?”

 

            “Yes, but you, however, will live. I’m already dead, and what you’re talking to right now is my consciousness spread throughout the forest.”

 

            “If you’re dead and you can’t kill me, what’s the point of taking me here?”

 

            “I brought you here because I want you to know the truth about my people.”

 

            “I’ll listen to your story if you let Sierra go.”

 

            “I cannot. I am only a shadow of my former self and I am bound to this dimension alone.”

 

            Solis scratches his head and thinks for a while and then answers her.

 

            “Alright, I’ll listen.”

 

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            “Sierra’s... younger than you, isn’t she?”

 

            Mea strikes up a question on Therese while they walk through the fog.

 

            “Well, yeah... Why do you ask?”

 

            “Nothing. Just wanted to prove a theory that you’re ignoring her for a petty reason.”

 

            “What are you getting at?” She pierces Mea’s soul through her glasses. “What’s your name, anyway?”

 

            “It’s Eve.”

 

            “Mine’s Therese.”

 

            “Pleasure to meet you but let’s not stray too far from the subject...”

 

            Mea gives her a mischievous smirk.

 

            “I don’t feel comfortable talking about it with a stranger.”

 

            “I get that a lot. But, you know, your sister is quite lonesome.”

 

            “What are you talking about? She has a lot of friends in the Hunting Guild. In fact, she even has a crush on some guy.”

 

            “For someone who hates her, you seem to be paying a close attention to her.”

 

            “No, that’s not it...”

 

            Therese laughs through her nose.

 

            “What’s so funny?”

 

            “I... I saw her write a poem.”

 

            “A what?”

 

            “She was trying to write a poem and I saw one of those scribbles while I was taking out the trash.”

            “That so?” The Darkness Elemental gives a delightful while Therese talks about her sister a little more.

 

            “That girl’s a real klutz. She once ran out of the house saying she was going to the Hunting Guild but she forgot to bring her ammo with her. Back when she was younger she used to always take my folded underwear because she couldn’t fold her own and I ended up doing the chore for her. Mom was so furious when she found out what that girl was doing.”

 

            “You... You two have a mother?”

 

            “We had one, but Echidna murdered her a long time ago.” Therese makes eye-contact while uttering such a straight-forward statement. “At the same time she took away Sierra’s Elemental Matrix with an experimental weapon. Mom sacrificed herself so that we could escape.”

 

            “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

 

            “It’s fine”, she looks down a bit. “I think that’s why I ended up ‘hating’ her.”

 

            “I see.”

 

            A moment of awkward silence passed through them until Mea’s curiosity got the best of her.

 

            “If you don’t mind me asking... How did her death make you hate Sierra so much?”

 

            Before she could answer, the Elemental Matrix started to react. It started shining all of a sudden and when they looked to their front, they found Sierra unconscious on the ground. Solis was there adjacent to her along with five Anima cuddled next to him.

 

            “I wish I brought a camera!”, Mea thinks to herself when her shota-con complex starts acting up.

 

            “There they are-“

 

            “I’ll take Solis!” She immediately calls dibs on our main character.

 

            Surprised without a clue who Solis is, Therese nods her head and makes her way toward her sister who was lying on her side on the ground. Lifting up the girl, she notices the burn that has eaten its way on the Sierra’s back. Her blood was receding from her exposed veins and her skin popped due to the inability to clot the blood. The acid’s potency is relatively weak now, but for some reason it’s still chewing through her flesh.

 

            “She’s not going to make it”, she whispers to herself.

 

            “What was that?”, Mea asks while carrying Solis and the Anima on her back.

 

            “She’s bleeding to death!”

 

            Careful not to drop her load, Mea rushes in immediately to assess what happened. As her line of sight trailed the girl, she grew pale almost instantly at the sight of the wounds. It must have reminded her of the tragedy that came to her village.

 

            “That’s horrible”, she looks away.

 

            “What... How... What the f*ck do we do now?”

 

            “I don’t know... Let’s just take her to the ship, for now. I’ve got her autotracker here.”

 

            Delicately, Therese lifts Sierra and carries her on her back. Mea struggled to read the device but luckily their target area was close-by. When she finds her bearings, she points the way and tells Therese to follow her.

 

            “Maybe Elias has some medical supplies in his ship”, Mea says while running through the fog with Therese.

 

            “I don’t think that’s going to work. This stuff is more or less Demonic magic and it’s already sunken deep in her skin.”

 

            “That’s true, but...”

 

            The roaring engine of Sylphid echoed in their path as the fan blades beneath the hull blow away the fog. The ship’s entrance was open and ready for lift off as soon as all the passengers are accounted for. Lanette and Maise were there waiting for them in the entrance above emergency ascension cables.

 

            “Please strap yourselves with one of these.” Lanette throws two belts attached to the cables toward the two.

 

            “Sierra’s hurt. Do you have any medical supplies in there?”, Mea asks while strapping herself.

 

            “I’ll go ask Eli. I think he was able salvage what’s left during the crash”, Maise answers.

 

            As they were pulled through a mechanical pulley by the ascension cables, they were led toward the ship’s passenger area where the rest of the group was waiting for them.

 

            “Are the two of them alright?”, Anna worriedly gets up from her chair.

 

            “Solis is fine but I can’t say the same for Sierra.” Mea gently lets Solis sit on one of the chairs.

 

            “What happened to her?”, Credo asks.

 

            “This.”

 

            After saying that, Therese turns around while carrying her sister to reveal the burns slowly melting on the girl’s back. Anna was taken by surprise and nearly vomited if she hadn’t restrained herself from such an offending notion.

 

            Just then, Elias got out of the cockpit where he kept most of the supplies during repairs. He saw how severe the wounds were so he magnetized the front row of chairs together and formed cushion where Sierra could lie on.

 

            “Lay her down here”, he orders. “Maise, hurry up with that first-aid kit!”, he shouts through the cockpit door.

 

            “I got it here.” Maise comes out of the door and hands the kit to Elias.

 

            Therese takes the Wind Elemental Matrix and lays on the chair next to Solis and then places her sister face down on the cushions.

 

            Elias opens the kit and fiddles around the disorganized medications until he finds a bottle of ethyl alcohol that he used to disinfect his hands and some sort of ointment made for second-degree burns. The rest of the party can only watch as he applies the substance on Sierra’s back.

 

            “Is she going to be okay?”, Maise asks her brother.

 

            “No, I don’t think it’s going to work”, he answers after noticing that the ointment had no effect at all. “There’s barely any effect on her.”

 

            Therese was effectively pissed-off from what he said but she held her tongue because she knew it wouldn’t do any good.

 

            “This is pointless”, he says, halting his improvised medication. “I’m going to start the ship so we can get out of here and-“

 

            “What the f*ck did you just say?”

 

            That little statement he just spewed gave Therese one last push to lose control. The next thing he knew Therese was gnashing her teeth and holding him up by his collar.

 

            “You’re just going to quit on my sister like that!”

 

            “Put him down, Therese”, Mea intervenes.

 

            “Listen here, you sweaty bag of bolts! I couldn’t care less about whatever the hell kind of crappy goals you have in your miserable life, but my sister is dying!”

 

            Seeing that things are getting out of hand, Credo tries to speak up.

 

            “That’s not what he meant, Therese-“

 

            “Stay out of this, [2]Nero!”

 

            “Who’s Nero?”, he asks Anna but she also didn’t know.

 

            “Scum like you make me sick and I swear I will rip you apart with every single weapon I can make with Capernaum if you don’t take back what you just said!”

 

            There was a long silence. No one was talking. The only thing that can be heard is Therese’s intense breathing from the rage she felt. During those moments, however, Solis started to wake up...

 

            “Are you done, Therese?” Elias looks her right in the eye with a dead-serious expression.

 

            In response, she averts her eyes by looking down.

 

            “Um... Therese? I think Eli meant to say that he wanted to get out of here to give Sierra better treatment from someone who knows-“

 

            “Please...” Therese starts sobbing. “Please... Save my sister... I hate her so much, but she’s all I have left.”

 

            Her grip loosens and her legs start losing balance. Now she’s just crying like a baby with her face covered on Elias’ chest.

 

            Wow, this girl is so dramatic. And I thought for sure she’d be my waifu of the month.

 

            I guess looks can be deceiving.

 

            Speaking of looks, looks like Solis has already woken up from all the commotion.

 

            Oh, what’s this? Why is he taking Sierra’s Elemental Matrix?

 

            And now he’s... walking toward her almost lifeless body.

 

            Why isn’t anyone noticing this?

 

            Okay now he’s... sticking it inside her! It went in! It was a little tight, but it went in!

 

            ...

 

            I was talking about her Matrix.

 

            Anyway, now that he stuck it back inside her, what the hell does that accomplish?

 

            “Solis, what are you doing?”

 

            Oh, good. Mea finally noticed him.

 

            As soon as the Matrix was deep enough, Sierra’s body started to glow with a pale light. The sudden burst of mana caused her to twitch and fall off the cushion. Therese turned around at the sound of the thud and she finds her sister on the ground with her face up.

 

            “What did you do?”, she questions Solis.

 

            “I fixed her”, he answers with a smile.

 

            “How?”

 

            “Oh, come on! You know Demonic magic doesn’t work on Elementals, right? Well, I turned her back into one and now she’s cured... Probably.”

 

            Therese checked immediately on Sierra’s back and the burns were miraculously effaced. Her eyes started to open by the time the light’s shine dispersed, and the look on Therese’s face surprised her a bit.

 

            “Am I... still dreaming?”

 

            Instead of answering, Therese wrapped her in her arms and started crying hysterically.

 

            “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry for abandoning you! It’s been so long and it became harder and harder to apologize that I couldn’t do it anymore!”

 

            Sierra was speechless. Whatever doubt she had that this wasn’t real vanished as soon as she saw the interior of the ship and the rest of the group witnessing the scene.

 

            “It’s okay, Therese”, she says while smiling innocently. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m a bad sister, after all.”

 

            “But-“

 

            “More importantly...”

 

            “More importantly?”

 

            “The acid melted off my bra-strap. You think you could lend me one of yours?”

 

            HOW THE F*CK DID I NOT NOTICE THAT!

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1. Consumable item that puts the consumer to sleep from Don't Starve by Klei Entertainment

2. She is referring to Nero from Devil May Cry 4, probably because Credo looks like him

Reviews

[❀Subaru_Nyaa!
..]

Anyone who’s anyone can buy a mana crystal in replacement of fossil fuels, right?” = I think that there is an extra 'anyone' in the sentence

Also, I did not expect the ending of this Arc