BOOM!!! CLANG! BAM!
Zack and Celia froze as the sound of fighting rolled through the trees.
Celia's frowned. "Someone's there."
Zack pulled her behind him as they slipped through the brush.
They reached a broken clearing near the wreckage.
A black-haired girl stood in the middle, surrounded by monsters.
A wolf the size of a lion paced in front of her, dark fur bristling, crimson eyes locked on her throat. Two more shapes lurked behind.
The girl's face was calm. A dim magic circle flickered in front of her right hand, weak and unstable. It was clear she was running out of mana.
Her right forearm had changed into a cannon. The frail magic circle hovered in front of it.
Her left arm had changed from the elbow down into a short sword. It was already buried in the side of one monster, pinning it to the ground as it thrashed.
The big wolf jumped.
The girl twisted, cannon arm snapping up. The circle flared and spat a short blast.
BOOM!!!
The energy slammed into the wolf's shoulder and knocked it back.
The blast wasn't enough to finish it.
The wolf shook it off and charged again.
The girl tried to pull her sword arm free from the pinned monster, but the body dragged with the blade, slowing her.
Celia wanted to move.
Zack caught her wrist and pulled her back. "Stop. She's an automaton."
Celia glared at him. "So what?"
"They're cold-blooded killing machines. They do whatever they're ordered to. She's probably here to catch you and bring you back."
"I know what they are. But I sensed her on the ship."
Zack blinked. "On the ship?"
"She was boosting the ship's protection barrier. Without her, we'd be dead."
Zack froze. He hadn't noticed the girl's presence at all. It was only because of Celia's sharp magical sense that she could feel it.
BAM!!!
The girl's sword arm finally tore free, but her step wobbled as the wolf's claws raked the ground inches from her feet.
Celia yanked her wrist out of Zack's grip.
"Stay then. I'll help her myself."
She stepped into the clearing.
Zack cursed under his breath and followed. He didn't like it, but he wasn't letting Celia walk into that alone.
Celia raised both hands and formed a magic circle in the air.
"Summon: Fire Spirit!"
A fire elemental took shape beside her. It looked like a floating ember with a bright core. It drifted forward and slammed into the wolf's face.
BOOM!!!
The wolf snarled and stumbled, shaking its head as the fire clung to its fur.
The girl turned her head toward Celia for the first time. Her black eyes blinked once.
"Princess Celia."
Zack didn't react to the name. He just moved.
He rushed the left side, daggers low. His eyes locked onto joints and soft spots.
One of the smaller monsters leaped at Celia's back.
"GROAAR!!!"
Zack stepped across her blind side and stabbed up under its jaw.
BAM!
The beast crashed down, twitching, and Zack was already shifting away.
The wolf broke free from the fire and went for Celia. Its face was half-charred now, twisted and ugly.
The automaton girl intercepted without a word. Energy gathered at the tip of her cannon.
BAM!!!
The circle flared again and blasted the wolf's chest, stopping it for a moment.
Celia didn't waste it.
"Go. Finish it!"
Her fire elemental dashed forward and rammed the wolf's side, forcing it to turn. The wolf's body twisted, exposing its ribs.
Zack slid in and drove his dagger in once, deep, then ripped it out and rolled away before the claws could catch him.
The wolf staggered. Crimson blood spilled from its side.
SLASH!!!
The automaton girl's sword arm cut across the wolf's foreleg.
Celia flinched at the gore, but she clenched her teeth and didn't step back.
"Fire spirit!"
The elemental shot forward like a fireball and struck the wound.
"ROARRRR!!!"
The flame crawled up the wolf's body, spreading fast.
Zack saw Celia sway and moved closer without saying anything, covering her side.
The automaton girl also adjusted, stepping into the line between the wolf and Celia.
The last wolf tried to circle behind the automaton.
Zack grabbed a stone, threw it left to pull its eyes, then cut right and sliced its tendon.
SLASH!!!
Blood sprayed into the air.
The automaton finished it with one clean thrust, sword arm driving through its chest.
The bigger wolf, bleeding and furious, lunged and tried to bite for the automaton's neck.
"Fire spirit!"
Celia's elemental slammed into it head-on.
The automaton fired a tight, concentrated blast with what little mana she had left.
Zack dashed in under the wolf's body and stabbed up into the heart.
STAB!!! BAM!!!
The wolf crashed to the ground so hard the leaves jumped.
Celia lowered her hands, breathing hard. The fire elemental flickered, then broke apart into sparks.
The automaton's cannon arm began to shift, metal folding back into skin.
She took one step forward, then her knees buckled.
Celia caught her before she hit the ground. "Hey. Stay awake."
The girl blinked slowly. "Strangers… helped… Now… friend… thank you."
Zack stared at her. "Are you here to hunt Celia?"
"No…"
Celia pulled the girl's arm over her shoulder. "Can you walk?"
The girl tried, but her body shook. "Power… low. Entering hibernation mode."
Zack looked around fast, then pointed. "Follow me."
They moved together, Celia supporting the automaton's weight, Zack in front with his daggers ready.
It didn't take long to find a cave entrance.
"Wait here," Zack said.
He went in first and checked the inside.
The cave wasn't deep, and it was empty.
"Looks like the wolves used this place," he muttered.
Zack didn't come out right away. He squeezed his brass token.
"Realize. Realize. Realize."
[Realization Points: -5]
A small campfire set formed near the wall, along with dry cloth and a few simple supplies.
With the dry branches outside and scraps left from the wolves' old meals, It doesn't cost him a lot of points.