There was a vague ringing in Melita’s ears, stopping her from hearing as well as she usually would, and when the large, twisted remains of the warehouse door clattered to the floor by her side, the vibrations rattled her bones.
She’d always been a stout, hardy thing, and even now, Melita wasn’t particularly affected, holding her forearm to her mouth to stop herself from breathing in the smoke. Her magic could clear the smoke and anything that came into her system, but there was no reason to waste her reserves on something like that.
A man walked in, fitted suit and cane speaking of aristocracy, but demeanour whispering of the Underworld. Even if Melita were to give the man the benefit of the doubt of being shifty by nature, the memory of his expression as he sank his blade into Leon wasn’t one she was about to forget anytime soon.
Living her life secluded from everyone and everything, it had been the one time she’d courted trouble, sneaking into where they’d captured Leon. The misfit trying to save the hero, labels brushed aside.
And she got nothing from it but the pleasurable experience of watching her friend die and their branch’s insignia, a trouble in her side that she’d only just disposed of.
A scrabble of movement at her side, and Melita rolled backwards, out of reach. She grabbed her assailant’s collar and rolled, throwing him to the side with the momentum and coming back unto her feet.
Who was that?
Under her gaze, the man from before struggled to extricate himself from the barrels she’d thrown him into. Melita let out a scoff.
So the Underworld had been closer than she thought. In that case, they should have come with something stronger than Map.
This was a bit of a complicated situation.
Ordinarily, she would have been long gone, but they probably thought she still had the insignia. They’d been sure Leon had it, but when he didn’t, set their sights on her. She was the only one left, after all.
At least, the only one that anyone knew of. She’d turned Teresa out of her own whim, long after the Academy had been dissolved.
A raucous laugh came from Leon’s killer as she shifted back, keeping both him and the boy from before in her sights. “You animals always make your moves right when I’m about to give up hope. You could have saved me the chase.”
His words were a confirmation that she didn’t particularly need. The Underworld had been chasing down the holders of the insignias, causing a ripple effect of all the current holders passing on their insignias to confuse the Underworld in return, a feat usually only done when the current holder was in dire straits.
It was a hard task, requiring a Liviae to summon all their life force and rip it from themselves to hand it down. It was also a conspicuous task, equivalent to a bright light of energy to anyone who was sensitive to it.
And so the Underworld quietly increased the pressure on the Liviae, hunting them down, but rushed in when they saw the bright light that marked a new target, all but offering themselves on a silver platter.
Not only that, but they’d interrupted her right in the middle. Not only would her insignia still be with her, her reserves of magic would have been raw and separated from herself, out of reach. It was a smart plan, and she was well and truly caught.
If, of course, she had fused with the insignia in the first place.
Teresa had probably thought the same, and assumed that if she’d run, Melita would have to force herself to survive- if only to keep the insignia out their hands-as if she cared about the rotten thing.
Even in such a desperate situation, her Teresa always thought to keep her alive.
Melita hoped Teresa wouldn’t feel too betrayed when she finally stopped, somewhere hidden away, and found the insignia in her own possession.
But first, she had to make sure they wouldn’t catch Teresa. And so, the Underground assuming she was the current holder was central.
They thought that her powers were weakened, and so she’d make them think she was desperate.
Whilst she’d always hated her martial arts lessons, she’d excelled in the arcane. And that was before Leon had given her his own reserve as he died.
Backing away as if she was cornered, Melita frowned, gathering her energy round her arms, into her palms, before she created the image of a huge fireball that leapt from her fingers, filling the warehouse before her. She focused on the feeling of heat, the sight of the licking fire, the sound of the crackle.
Waving her hand round her body, Melita pulled an additional illusion around herself, making herself invisible, before superimposing her own figure on the space just beside her, a double that ran in the opposite direction. That done, she turned and ran.
The illusion of the fire worked for the most part, the screams of people behind her adding to the confusion and panic. Climbing up the barrels stacked along the back of the warehouse, it was simple enough to open the window before throwing a leg over and preparing for the drop.
A bullet shot through her double, glancing off an iron beam and shattering a window, causing the illusion to flicker in the light. Immediately, another bang, and a searing pain in her shoulder, too precise to have been a lucky shot.
Gritting her teeth, Melita used her other hand to push herself off, rolling once she hit the floor to spread out the impact. Ignoring the shaking in her limbs, she started running, heading for the maze of alleys ahead.
With her illusion up, she’d be able to gain some ground for a little while.
This wasn’t the best situation, but even through the pain and the jarring impact of her shoulder as she ran, Melita couldn’t help the feeling of excitement spurring her further and further.
Holding her injured arm to stabilize it as much as she could, Melita realised she was smiling, and the realisation only pulled the grin ever wider as she looked ahead, pushing forward with another burst of speed.
Hide and seek had always been her favourite game.
Leave a Reply