The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 8

Chapter VIII: Inglis, Age 15—Dual Starlets (8)

The play had reached its climax. It was time for the kiss between Maribelle and Prince Malik. Rafinha and the others watched from the edge of their seats in the audience.

“Ah, here it comes!” Rafinha whispered as Prince Malik, played by Ian, brushed his hand across the hair and cheek of Maribelle, played by Inglis. This is getting exciting! Just watching makes my heart race.

Inglis had suspected there might be some kind of interference or sabotage by Ian and a co-conspirator. She and Rafinha had prepared for this possibility, but nothing had happened yet. The most destructive part so far came from Inglis and Yua themselves. They had damaged the theater’s walls and ceiling a bit during their duel, but that had been expected from them. Actually, everyone was relieved that they hadn’t wrecked things further.

Rafinha figured one thing had probably come as a surprise to Inglis: Yua’s sudden collapse during their fight.

Inglis is the most beautiful and cutest of us all, but she’s the least interested in boys, Rafinha thought. A shame she really doesn’t want to do the kiss herself!

Rafinha had figured Inglis probably had planned to get the best of both worlds—enjoying the fight but letting Yua win the kiss. In the end, Yua had lost. Having seen Inglis go overboard with fights for most of their lives, Rafinha had wondered whether Inglis could really pull it off. She’d kind of seen this result coming.

She’d hoped for it too. Rafinha had wanted to see Inglis be embarrassed for once, and that wish had come true. Inglis’s cheeks were flushed red, her eyes were wandering, and her voice was a little shaky as she delivered her lines.

“That’s perfect! You’re cute! You’re so stinking cute, Chris!” Rafinha called out.

“She really is... I’m not even in the scene, yet...” Leone murmured.

“Yes, it makes my pulse race!” Liselotte said with glee.

Eyes gleaming, the seated trio watched the play.

“Inglis really does seem different, like she came to life from a painting...” Principal Miriela said from the row behind them. She was enjoying the play as well. She was also on guard in case something happened. They all hoped their fears were unfounded.

It’s gotten this far. I want to see Inglis kiss! Rafinha thought. Maybe she’ll grow as a woman again. Maybe she’ll even get a bit interested in guys! It’s the first step toward her marrying Rafael someday and becoming the duchess of Ymir! And if I tell him about this, it will probably fire him up too. It’s good from every angle. So go for it! See it through!

In fact, Inglis appeared embarrassed only because she was so disturbed by the kiss that she was holding back the urge to punch Ian. Rafinha and the others had no way of knowing, though. Wordlessly, they stared at the lovely figure of Inglis on the stage.

As her and Ian’s faces got closer, just before the kiss, she turned her face away.

As the three felt the urge to gasp, Inglis disappeared from their vision. “Huh...?!”

Craaassshhh!

As they heard that noise, everything went dark. Not completely dark, due to the hole Inglis and Yua had punched in the ceiling, but the lights in the theater had gone out. That wasn’t in the script. Meaning—

“Rafinha! Leone! Liselotte! It’s like we prepared for! I’m counting on you!” Miriela said. As befitting a principal, she was one step ahead of Rafinha and the others in reacting. She brandished her Artifact staff, and her form twisted and disappeared along with the rest of the audience, who had been abuzz at the sudden twist.

“Of course!” Rafinha said.

Leone and Liselotte gave their own acknowledgments. “Understood!”

“Leave it to us!”

The voices of the three echoed from the suddenly empty seating, but did not go entirely unheard. Someone else gave a shout.

“What’s—?!”

This new voice came from near the center aisle, near where King Carlias had been seated. It came from a large, burly man with short, reddish-brown hair. It wasn’t winter, but he was wearing heavy clothing that almost completely covered him below the neck.

There was no mistaking him. It was Diego, the man Rafinha had seen yesterday while taking Alina home. Next to him were two other men in similar outfits. They were each looking around frantically at the now-empty scene.

“What just happened?!”

“Ugh...! The king disappeared?!”

It seemed that their plan was to take advantage of the confusion for an ambush. However, their primary target, King Carlias, was already gone. He had been transported away to another dimension thanks to Principal Miriela’s Artifact, which had previously been put to use to isolate magicite beasts summoned by Ripple. Back then, everyone had fought inside the dimension to limit the damage to the school, and now it was being used to provide a safe haven.

Leone’s dark greatsword Artifact had the same power, and the original plan had left this up to her. But with Leone’s current power, she’d sweep up all the people in its area of effect. If there were evildoers in the crowd, they’d be carried along, endangering their safe haven. In addition, she couldn’t be expected to shelter the entire seating area.

On the other hand, Principal Miriela had a special-class Rune, so she could cover the entire audience while selectively leaving out only the people involved in the sabotage and the three first-year students near her. Therefore, in considering that things could become an emergency, Inglis had decided to ask Principal Miriela to protect the audience.

Inglis had discovered the identity of the saboteurs when she had leaped from the stage during their early dance scene and learned there were five of them. That bounding leap hadn’t originally been in the script. While it was impressive, it hadn’t been for the audience’s enjoyment but to determine if anyone suspicious was in attendance. Inglis had judged that based on who had an unnatural flow of mana. And Inglis had been right—she’d precisely picked out Diego and his men as the ones who were targeting King Carlias.

“Sorry, but His Majesty is in a safe place! Give up now and don’t resist as we tie you up!” Rafinha announced as she leveled her trusty Artifact, the new bow given to her by Ambassador Theodore.

“Rafinha?!” A familiar voice came from another direction.

“What?! Alina?!” Rafinha replied, shocked that the girl hadn’t been transported away. “Why are you—?!”

Did Principal Miriela make a mistake? Or had Inglis picked her out too? Rafinha wondered, her thoughts racing. Inglis had written down the seats, but they had been in so much of a hurry with the play that Rafinha hadn’t had a chance to go over them.

“What?! A-Are you Diego, who was staying at our house?! What’s going on?!” Alina asked. The man who had bought Alina was also left behind, as were the other children besides her who had been at that house. There were about ten kids still in the seats there.

Diego said nothing to Rafinha. He didn’t even seem to have heard her. He must have been focused on the sudden disappearance of King Carlias. “This is too odd. Or perhaps Ian betrayed us...?”

He had no idea. The countermeasures Inglis had set up after detecting the plot had trapped him perfectly—not that Rafinha had any obligation to correct his misunderstanding. She was more concerned with his having mentioned Ian. That meant Ian really was one of them.

One of the suspicious men in similar clothing, who must have been one of Diego’s subordinates, asked for orders. “General! What do we do?!”

“We regroup. Luckily, although we’ve lost sight of our target, they’ve lost sight of us... Except for those still here. We silence these girls and then go undercover until our next chance. Hurry!”

“Yes, sir!” The two underlings nodded and loomed with bloodthirst.

They were serious. They intended to leave no witnesses. “As if! You can’t take us down that easily!” Rafinha replied fearlessly. She’d stood on many battlefields. Just recently, she’d been in the middle of a clash between the Highlanders and the Steelblood Front, and then she’d faced down a Prismer, even if it was larval. Her spirit wasn’t soft enough to quiver at mere human assassins.

“That’s right!” Leone hefted her dark greatsword.

“If they’re coming for us, we’ll turn the tables!” Liselotte brandished her pale halberd.

“Then you leave us no choice!” One of Diego’s underlings rushed toward Alina and the other children, who were seated a bit away from them. Somehow, with a sudden buzzing sound, a mass of sharp blades extended from his arm.

He must have concealed those to avoid suspicion, Rafinha thought. But Alina’s in danger! He’s trying to take her hostage!

“I won’t let you!” She swiftly gripped her Artifact bow. An arrow of light appeared in her hand, and she fired it immediately.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew at the assassin rushing toward Alina, but it went over his head. There was no way it was going to hit him. A second, then a third arrow followed swiftly, flanking out to either side.

“That’s a nice Artifact, but if you don’t know how to use it—”

“Oh? Or do I?” Just as Rafinha replied, the leading arrow’s trajectory shifted. It suddenly plunged, grazing the assassin’s nose as it stabbed into the floor at his feet.

“Wh—?! It suddenly—?!” He stopped suddenly.

“There!” The second and third arrows also made sharp turns, piercing through his knees.

“Ughhh...?!” The assassin’s body collapsed in place.

Rafinha was a highly accurate sniper with precise targeting. Lately, her practice had been all about controlling the trajectory of her arrows at will. If she shot many arrows, she could only control their general direction, but with just a few—just two or three—she could control them precisely, as evident from her attack just then.

Though I haven’t landed any on Inglis yet...

Inglis moved too fast, and no matter how many times Rafinha adjusted her arrows’ trajectory, Inglis would simply evade until the arrows fizzled out. Compared to fighting her, this was easy.

“You can’t move now!” As Rafinha spoke, she ran toward the children.

“Rafinha!” Alina cried.

“Alina! You’re okay now! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” If Diego’s men were using the kids as hostages, that meant they were innocent here. Rafinha swore to protect them.

“You’re not alone in this, Rafinha! We’re here too!” Leone chimed in.

“Indeed! We’ll help!” Liselotte agreed as they sprang into action.

“Rafinha, you protect the kids!”

“We’ll take the front line!”

“Yeah! Thanks!” Rafinha replied.

Then I can fire at the other enemies from here! Now that I can control the trajectory of my arrows a few at a time, I can let them loose without worrying I’ll hit an ally. That means I can help out in a chaotic fight like this. I’m so glad I practiced!

Plus, Inglis had said that improving her skills in controlling that Gift would also have positive effects on her other Gift, the healing one.

Rafinha again raised Shiny Flow, aiming at Diego’s other underling.

“Grahhh!” A shadow flashed across the edge of her vision. The assassin who had collapsed after being shot in the knees had risen again to lunge toward her.

“Wh—?!” Rafinha gasped. He definitely wasn’t moving like she’d hit him in the knees. He’s fast!

It was a surprise attack, and although she managed to twist and mostly avoid it, the assassin’s blade grazed her shoulder. A burning pain rushed through her nerves. Blood stained the costume she was still wearing.

“Ugh...! How can you move like that?!” she complained. He shouldn’t normally have been able to stand up, but he was moving like he was completely fine. Not only that, the weapon he wielded didn’t look like an Artifact. Was he powerful enough to wound a knight with an upper-class Artifact in spite of that?

“I feel no pain from my wounds!” His slashes grew in ferocity.

Rafinha recovered her footing and blocked his blade with her bow. But at this rate, she’d have no chance to counterattack unless she could get far enough away to use her bow. While she looked for an opportunity to open a gap and counterattack, she noticed that even though she’d pierced his knees earlier, there was no blood flowing from his legs. “What’s going on?! It didn’t work?!”

“Rafinha!” Leone called out. Winding up for a swing with her dark greatsword, she used its Gift to extend it, turning it into a massive chunk of iron swinging down at the assassin from overhead.

“Whoa!” The assassin reacted, leaping out of its path.

But that gave me an opening! That’s why Leone attacked here! Not just to take him out herself.

“Thanks!” Rafinha called. If she could put space between them, she could win! Rafinha shot another three arrows of light. This time, she controlled them to strike the assassin’s shoulder together.

“Grahhh?!”

“How about this?!” The converging arrows of light tore through the assassin’s shirt—revealing a humanoid tangle of pipework and machinery like the inner workings of a Flygear.

“Wh-What the heck?!” Rafinha gasped. “His body’s like the insides of a Flygear!”

That was why he didn’t feel pain; he wasn’t made of flesh. That was why Inglis could see that his flow of mana was unnatural. He quite obviously no longer had a natural human body. It was something Rafinha had never seen before. Highland probably had something to do with this.

Now she understood why he could strike her without an Artifact. With a mechanical body, he had gained power far beyond that of a normal human.

But as thankful as I am for an Artifact, I don’t think I’d want to be like that, Rafinha thought. Did he really need to go this far for power? Ambassador Theodore would never do such a thing or allow someone else to do that. Who in the world...?

“That’s right. This is the power granted to us by Archlord Evel,” Diego announced from a distance as he watched the fight. He was calm, cold—indifferent.

“Evel?! That naughty little boy—” Of all the Highlanders Rafinha had met, he had to be among the worst. She could see him doing anything, since he didn’t care at all about the people of the surface.

“But it gave us, the Runeless and frail, power. We feel no pain. If our bodies are destroyed, we can simply replace them. We’re the ideal soldiers.”

“What’s so great about that?! You’re nothing more than a golem!” Leone fired back.

“No. Even if our bodies are different now, our will remains the same. And it is will that is the source of a person’s power—as long as that is not lost, nothing else matters.”

“Then I’ll destroy that body you’re so proud of!” Liselotte, using the power of her Artifact’s Gift to create white wings on her back, swooped toward Diego from above.

Thanks to those wings, Liselotte was the most mobile of the three. On the other hand, compared to Rafinha who could let countless arrows of light fly or Leone who could attack by making the blade of her greatsword huge, her only means of attack was a close-in strike with her halberd, so she was more agile than she was strong.

The best way to make use of these characteristics was to act as a frontline decoy or disrupt the enemy. She was trying to pin down Diego, the strongest of their foes. Even if she couldn’t defeat him alone, as long as she could hold out without being defeated herself, she could wait for her allies to turn the tide of the battle. In this case, while Liselotte held off Diego, Leone and Rafinha could each defeat one of the others.

Then Liselotte planned for them to defeat Diego together. Rafinha understood her classmate’s intention well.

Then, I’ll go ahead and take out the assassin right here first!

“Grah!” Even though the man had been shot in the knees and through the shoulder, he showed no sign of slowing down as he advanced.

It wouldn’t be good to let him get too close. She wouldn’t have time to draw her bow. Rafinha jumped back at the same speed, moving to maintain the gap between them.

But as she did, her foe accelerated in response. “Speed up!” The tubes protruding from his back and shins spouted bright-red flames like those produced by an Artifact, increasing the speed of his movement.

“Oh no!” He was catching up to her. That meant she had to change tactics. She stopped her retreat and stepped forward.

Her foe advanced, brandishing his blade. “Raaaah!”

Just before he struck her, she leaped onto his shoulder and used it as a springboard to jump even higher. While his momentum was incredible, it made it hard for him to control his posture, and since he was moving in a straight line, he became predictable and easy for Rafinha to jump off of him. With the addition of her foe’s momentum, she sailed high into the air, far enough away to loose her arrows of light. “Take this!” This time, rather than a barrage, she focused her power into one strong, thick arrow of light. “Go!”

The thick arrow of light pierced the assassin’s knee again. And this time, it shredded the machinery of his lower leg as it tore away from his body.

“Nuuuuu?!”

“Sorry! You’re fast, but you’re too obvious!” As she landed, she fired another shot. This tore off his other leg, and unable to stand, the assassin rolled on the ground. At almost the same time—

Screeeech!

The high-pitched sound of metal scraping across metal pierced the air. Turning toward the sound, Rafinha saw that Leone had sliced side to side through the torso of Diego’s other underling. With a heavy thud, his upper and lower halves fell to the floor.

“Nice, Leone!”

“Thanks! Looks like this one’s the same way...” Leone looked at the assassin rolling on the floor. Even though he’d been cut in two, not a single drop of blood had spilled.

“Ugh... You’re strong!” he grunted.

The assassin Rafinha had taken down could also speak, though his lower half was damaged beyond function. “Dammit! Is this the end?!”

“I knew a major country like Karelia would have good knights... These girls are impressive,” Diego intoned coolly.

“You’re next!” Rafinha yelled.

“Yes!” Leone agreed.

“We won’t let you get away!” Liselotte threatened.

Now it was three against one. Even if Diego was stronger than the other two assassins, Rafinha figured the three of them should be enough to defeat or capture him.

“Three on one, hmm...” Even though he was at a disadvantage, Diego showed no sign of panicking.

“General! We can’t let this happen!”

“If it’s come to this, make use of us!”

“You’re right... Forgive me!” Diego tore off the thick gloves he’d been wearing and extended a palm to each of his fallen underlings. Each of his palms bore an intricate, pale blue pattern like a magical circle. They reminded Rafinha of the Floating Circle she’d seen in Nova where Cyrene had ruled. “Focusing Circle—I will use your power!”

Whoosh!

Pale blue light rose from his fallen underlings and was absorbed by the Focusing Circles in Diego’s palms. While Rafinha had never seen such a thing happen, she couldn’t help thinking he was extracting their souls.

Once the light stopped rising from their bodies, the assassins fell to the ground, motionless. They were gone.

“Wh—?! What was that?!” Rafinha asked.

“I’ve inherited their power!” Diego announced.

“Meaning, you killed them and took it?” Leone accused. She was right, though. That was essentially what Diego had done.

“That’s terrible!” Liselotte gasped.

“In this situation, I must do what I must!” Diego’s body glowed with the pale blue light he’d absorbed. “Their souls, their will—I will not let them go to waste! Speed up!” He rushed toward Liselotte, who had been engaged in close combat with him earlier. The flames from the tubing on his back were an even-hotter blue-white.

Clang!

A blade extended from his forearm and clashed with Liselotte’s halberd.

“Ugh...! He’s faster than before!” Liselotte was noticeably pushed back.

“That doesn’t matter!” Leone extended her greatsword, striking Diego’s blade as he struggled with Liselotte. Now he had to contend with the strength of two.

“Gaaah!” Diego was sent flying back into the wall.

“Leone! Thank you!”

“Sure thing! It’s okay! If we work together, we can win!” Their eyes met as they nodded to each other.

“You’re so cool!” Alina’s eyes gleamed as she watched the flashy battle in front of her.

“Of course knights are cool!” another child yelled.

“I’m sorry for calling your Flygear lame!” one called. All the other kids were excited.

“Q-Quiet down! It isn’t over yet!” the merchant chided.

It really did seem as if they had been caught up in this situation by accident. Rafinha didn’t understand why Principal Miriela’s Artifact hadn’t transported the children to safety, but everything would be okay if she, Leone, and Liselotte finished things quickly.

“We’re almost done! Just be good girls and boys for a little bit longer!” Rafinha called out, now having joined Leone and Liselotte in the fight. The three of them surrounded Diego. “Give up now!”

“You can’t escape!” Leone said.

“If the three of us work together, we’re more than a match for you!” Liselotte said.

But Diego retained his relaxed demeanor. “I suppose that wasn’t enough... In that case—!” He pointed the Focusing Circles in his palms toward the children.

“Whoa?! Wh-What’s happening?!” the merchant exclaimed. Suddenly, his forearms began to glow brightly and fine writing appeared. It was similar to Diego’s Focusing Circle.

“Those are Sending Marks, which send power to my Focusing Circle—the sign of the sacrifice which will become my strength,” Diego answered.

“You mean they aren’t just good-luck charms?! Is this why you invited us here?!”

“I’m sorry. You were my backup plan.”

“Aaaaagh!” The merchant writhed in agony and began to scream. The Focusing Circle’s absorption process was a painful one from the looks of it. Rafinha guessed that Diego’s underlings hadn’t screamed only because they couldn’t feel pain.

Whoosh!

Just like before, Diego absorbed the pale blue light that came from the next victim. “Aaaaaaaagh!” The merchant screamed moments before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

“M-Mister?!” The children shrieked in horror.

“Wh—?! Stop! Don’t drag other people into this!” Rafinha yelled.

Those kids had been left out of Miriela’s dimension shift because the Sending Marks had left an unnatural flow of mana around them. Inglis had been paying attention to where the mana flow felt off, but her plan had backfired. If Alina and the others had been taken to shelter too, Diego wouldn’t have been able to hurt them.

“Rafinha! Liselotte! We need to take him down—now!” Leone called out.

“Yes! I won’t hold back anymore!” Rafinha agreed.

“Speed up!” Diego broke out of the circle the three girls had formed around him. He extended his palm again, this time toward the children. “More, more! I need more power!”

This time, a Sending Mark began to glow on Alina’s body. “Aaaaaaah!”

“A-Alina?!” Rafinha gasped.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha! This is incredible! She has so much mana! With this, I can defeat you and fulfill my duty!”

No matter what kind of lofty goal he has, doing something like this is inhuman! Rafinha thought. I won’t let him drag an innocent child into this!

“I won’t let you do that! Take this!” Rafinha loosed the most powerful arrow of light she could directly at Diego’s face. Even if he didn’t feel pain—even if he could keep moving after being destroyed—he couldn’t possibly survive after having his head blown off. She’d finish him in one shot. She had to give it her all.

The arrow was her strongest yet, physically larger than any she’d made before. Even alone it was like a tidal wave as it bore down on Diego.

“Impressive! But with my Focusing Circle, the more I absorb, the more powerful I become!”

Her light washed over his right arm and its protruding blade, which he used to swat the arrow away.

Fwoosh!

“Huh?! It didn’t work?! Then take this!” Rafinha yelled.

Following her intent, the one large arrow of light split into many smaller beams. They rained upon Diego’s body in one movement together.

“Ngh! You’re too clever for your own good!” With her overwhelming volley spread at such a close range, it would be hard for him to block or evade them all. Forced onto the defensive, Diego crossed his stout arms over his body.

Thwop! Thwop! Thwop!

“Gaaah!”

The arrows tore through Diego’s body. They pierced his cheeks and ears, which were still flesh and blood. However, because Rafinha had been forced to split her one focused attack into multiple smaller ones, she had diffused its power; it wasn’t the decisive strike to the head that she wanted. If her opponent had had a normal body, many light wounds like this would slow them down and sap their will to fight. However, Diego wasn’t normal. He had a mechanical body, and that part of him didn’t feel any pain from her volley. A few scratches were nothing to him.

In the end, her attack wasn’t that effective, but it was better than him crushing her.

Besides... Rafinha turned to her friends. “Leone! Liselotte! Your turn!”

“Of course!”

“Understood!”

I gave them an opening!

Following Rafinha’s shot, Leone and Liselotte had already closed in.

Claaang!

Their attacks struck against Diego’s body and echoed.

“Ugh...! I can’t cut him!” Leone complained.

“Even though you chopped the other one in half?!” Liselotte asked, stunned.

“Don’t underestimate me! This Focusing Circle lets me surpass my original strength as I gather more power! Your attacks mean nothing to me now!” Diego flung away Leone and Liselotte with his fists.

They crashed forcefully into a wall. He was far more intense than before thanks to the mana he’d absorbed from Alina.

“Guh...”

“Aaah...”

“I won’t let you interfere! Stay out of my way!” Diego swiftly fired chains with an attached pointed cone from his arms. They snaked around as if they had their own will, constricting Leone and Liselotte before the tip of the cone plunged deep into the wall, trapping them off the ground.

“I-I can’t move...” Leone grunted.

“Th-This is...”

No matter how hard they struggled, they wouldn’t free themselves anytime soon.

“Leone! Liselotte!”

“R-Rafinha, try to buy us some time!” Leone called.

“Ensure that Inglis can make it back here before it’s too late!” Liselotte said.

If Inglis were here, that would solve things, but Diego wasn’t going to wait around. He once again turned a palm inscribed with the Focusing Circle toward Alina.

“Aaaaaah!” she shrieked.

“Alina!” Rafinha cried.

“H-Help me, Rafinha! It hurts!”

“Okay! Just hold on!” Rafinha tried to run to the girl, but something suddenly caught her legs. “Ah! What?!”

She looked down at her ankles. Similar chains had broken through the floor at her feet and wrapped around her legs. She was stuck.

“When did you—?! Let me go! I have to save Alina!”

“Give up. The superior power within this child... We will make it the foundation for our cause.”

“Don’t even think about it! Alina’s life is her own!”

“Oh, really? If she’s going to toil her life away in a rundown merchant’s house, she may as well sacrifice herself for something greater.”

“You have no right to say that!”

I won’t let that happen! I can’t believe he’d do that to such a small, sweet, innocent child!

Rafinha’s blood boiled as she watched Alina sob and tremble in pain. Unlike herself, raised in a happy environment with no limits, Alina had been struggling since she was a little girl. Rafinha couldn’t even imagine the hardship the girl had endured.

All I wanted was to give her some fun memories of watching our performance. I won’t let him crush her happiness, no matter what lofty goal or purpose he has! 

Rafinha had seen many of the atrocities from Highlanders—but this was among the worst she’d witnessed.

Silent but determined, Rafinha drew her bow. An arrow of light grew bigger and bigger.

“This is pointless. Stop it,” Diego said.

“What?!” Rafinha snapped.

“I can tell you’re waiting for something. Why don’t you sit back rather than trying to interfere? If you simply watch, I won’t touch you. I might even spare your life, on certain conditions. As you can see, I’m busy absorbing this girl’s power.”

“Don’t underestimate me!”

There’s no way I can sacrifice Alina! Rafinha answered with an arrow rather than speaking those words. The dense arrow of light was unchanged from before, but it changed from white to aqua.

“Hmph. Then I’ll start with you!”

“Burst!”

Thwop! Thwop! Thwop!

A torrent of aqua bolts of light fell toward Diego.

“Is that all you have to show me?” This time, Diego didn’t even pause in draining Alina’s strength. He simply held up his left hand in defense. As the volley of arrows struck him, not a single new wound appeared. In fact, the opposite happened. The piercing wounds on his face healed without a trace.

“Ha ha ha... Not only does it no longer hurt me, it heals me! What incredible power I’ve found!” Diego laughed.

Actually, he misunderstood what had just happened—Rafinha wasn’t about to correct him, though.

I-It worked! That means...! Rafinha thought, pleased.

Her new Artifact had two Gifts. The first was the same as her previous one—to create and control arrows of light. The second was the power to heal the wounded. Until now, she’d only used that healing Gift in direct contact with its target.

But the aqua-colored arrows of light she’d let loose were a combination of both gifts. These arrows healed, rather than hurt, those who they struck. She’d experimented first on Diego, not caring whether it had failed on him. It was a technique she’d been practicing, but this was the first time it had worked so well.

“Then I can do this! Alina, hold on!” Rafinha aimed her bow at Alina—specifically at the shining Sending Marks on her forearms. Rafinha couldn’t move, so this was her only option to save Alina.

“Aaaaaah! It hurts, it hurts!”

“I’m going to help you now! It might hurt a little bit, but sit still for me!” Rafinha quickly fired a two-arrow burst.

Thwap! Thwap!

The two arrows were different colors. The first was white, her standard offensive arrow, but the one that followed was a healing arrow of blue light.

The first arrow shot through Alina’s forearms, wounding her. “Aaah!” Of course it would hurt.

But when the next arrow touched those wounds...

“Ah—huh? It...it doesn’t hurt anymore?” Alina wondered aloud. Her injuries were suddenly gone—as were the Sending Marks. The light that Diego had been drawing from Alina disappeared.

Diego grunted in surprise. “But I wasn’t finished absorbing her power!”

“Too bad for you! I won’t let you hurt her!” Rafinha’s first arrow had cut away the Sending Marks, and the second had healed her. The Sending Marks were foreign to Alina’s body. Even if she were healed, they wouldn’t regrow. Rafinha’s whole plan had been to remove them.

It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it had worked. Her daily practice had paid off. Seeing that for herself, she could finally think that she’d grown somewhat.

“I see... Then, I’ll get rid of you all—starting with you!” Diego rushed toward Rafinha with incredible speed.

“Ugh!” With her ankles bound, she couldn’t move to keep her distance.

“I can carve as many Sending Marks as I want! I’ll start by carving some into you and absorbing your mana!”

“No, thanks!” She blocked his blade with her bow, but he overpowered her. Her bow fell to the ground. “Ah—!” She desperately reached out a hand to pick it up, but he was too close.

“Not happening!” An iron fist flew toward her face.

Blaaam!

Suddenly, there was an ear-splitting noise, and the earth shook. A mass of blue light blew the roof off of the theater.

It was an Aether Strike.

“Wh-What just happened?!” Diego gasped.

“I could ask the same of you.” There was a calm, clear voice and a beautiful figure. Her platinum-blonde hair shone.

Inglis smiled as she caught the punch Diego had meant for Rafinha.