Chapter 81: Interlude Fourteen: Fiona - Warpath

Her hair was ablaze with red hues as Fiona entered the inferno. Her clothes lit like a tinderbox, eating away at the plastic-like fabric. All Fiona felt was the liberating scintillation of freedom. She wasn’t just falling into this chaos but dancing in the flames.

Explosions followed her path, and the paper hallways flickered, melting away as Akio likely fled; it seemed his essence was tied to whatever he haunted, and he didn’t appreciate being slowly flayed.

Fire alarms accompanied the cries and cursing from the gangsters and hostages in the next room. Akio appeared to be gone as she turned the room he was in into a hellscape, or perhaps it was Maria’s doing. Without the specter’s support, there was no one to protect them from her wrath—it was open season.

Blowing the door off its hinges in a ball of fire, she left the sea of flames behind her as the sprinklers turned on. Smoke started to haze the area, making it difficult for her to see, but the smog didn’t affect her lungs.

The heated aura she carried was smothered by a light rush of frost and light-blue colors, creating crystals of ice around her. Choking between yells, she spotted two screaming and fleeing men, having left the hostages by the corner.

An unfamiliar, cruel laugh escaped her throat as she fueled her arctic magic with the memories of the agony they had caused her. Through the haze, she recognized Ben and his friend—the one who had so thoroughly enjoyed using toothpicks to torment her. Thin spikes of ice shot outward, piercing their calves and anchoring them to the tile. Their bodies jerked violently as their panicked flight was brought to a halt.

"Haha! Not so fond of pointy things now. Are we?" she mused, floating closer to the choking and hyperventilating men as the ice froze their bones to the marrow in place. "How much do you want to live? Will you find a way to cut off your own legs before the fire comes, or will you suffocate? I don’t think the sprinklers are stopping it. Hehe."

"P-Please..."

Fiona’s frosted eyes and frozen smile shifted to the hostages as they huddled beside each other. "Oh! Wonderful. I need you two to come with—" A bright light hit her on the side of the head; it didn’t make her move that much, but it did sting a little. "Huh?"

Looking to the left, another one hit her dead in the forehead. Her teeth flashed upon seeing the holes in the wall from the light-based arrows. Fiona’s dense magic condensed above her head while waiting for the next blast, an ice javelin forming from her rapidly diminishing Sugar Pool.

"Elemental attacks, hmm? I’m sure that must be very powerful against most people, Elfy. Sadly...not against me."

"Watch out!"

Fiona’s sapphire eyes darted left at the terrified women, spotting movement out of the corner of her eye. Her free left hand lifted in that direction, spear forming. Luis’ shadowy figure emerged two meters away, only for Fiona’s spike to enter his chest and impale him on the condensing ice.

"Bitch!!"

Margaret ran out of the room she’d just left on all fours. She was fast, but Fiona’s speed in the air dramatically increased with the use of her wings. [Ephemeral Grace] seemed to be more than just etiquette; when airborne, her Speed, Agility, and Quickness dramatically increased, helping her maneuver.

[Ephemeral Grace - Advanced to E-tier]

[Divine Fae Sense - Advanced to E-tier]

[Emotional Surge - Advanced to E-tier]

[Sweet Magic Boost - Advanced to E-tier]

She laughed at the furious cat’s attempts to reach her near the ceiling, the hair on her neck standing up and her face changing from rage to horror as Fiona dragged the panther man through the air with them. His arms struggled against the jagged ice that had likely punctured a lung.

"As I understand it," Fiona snickered, "it’s not good to pull something out after it enters an organ. Ooh. Running now?"

Margaret spun in the air, foot coming down on the spear to break it in half; she lost control of it, and the panther melded into the floor with the woman.

Fiona sent a swiftly formed one-meter shard at them, only for Margaret to snatch it out of the air with her teeth before it could enter Luis’ eye. An arrow of light struck Fiona’s back, sending her flying forward before she could launch a follow-up attack, prompting Fiona to use the momentum to flip around and fire another spear in Eliza’s general direction.

"Dammit! She’s practically as invincible as Conner... And this smoke and water! Agh!"

She chuckled at the elf’s comment, retreating to regroup with Luis and Margaret. Her shimmering blue eyes shifted to Ben and ’toothpick buddy’ as they wept.

"P-Please... I-I’m sorry—I just did what I was told... I can’t feel my legs."

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry..."

Fiona hummed, wearing a strained smile as she skated through the air to the terrified women in the corner. "Sorry for the scare. I’m...not entirely myself right now. I don’t know; maybe I am? Anyway, why don’t you go grab those guns over there? Oh, look at that! A window. We better hurry; the smoke is getting thicker."

Ignoring the mumbling gangsters, she coaxed the coughing women to follow her; she had them open it and climb through to the fire escape. Sadly, two of the hostages she’d seen had been killed as she went room by room, clearing people out on her way to the kitchen.

Eight gangsters got to experience what it felt like to burn alive. Five, Fiona left spiked to the wall or floor to suffocate in the growing fire. She missed her target twice due to poor visibility, killing two terrorists by accident; it was a shame.

Her thoughts and emotions drifted from hot to cold, depending on the situation in this hatred-fueled [Warpath] she was on. Thirty-seven hostages were saved, and she eventually caught up to Eliza, Margaret, and Luis in the kitchen; her Sugar Pool had reached 13% in less than ten minutes of ruthless carnage and fickle mania.

Ice spear breaking the glass window of the double doors, Fiona held her hands at her front while floating through to meet the three; they weren’t alone.

Eliza didn’t even have her bow ready; instead, she held a frying pan. Fiona had to admit, it was an intelligent choice. Lasers weren’t working, and they already knew physical attacks did a number on her.

"F-Fiona..."

"Hmm." Fiona’s mouth drew in as she hovered in the doorway; this wasn’t good.

Blood stained Margaret’s claws as lines dripped down Erika’s throat to her front. Her black-furred fox friend was trembling, with Luis holding a machine gun rather than using his powers. The weapon was aimed at even more hostages, making a happy ending impossible. She’d taken too long, which was her whimsical nature’s fault, not these evil people’s.

///SMENote///

How about a Power Stone Goal?

Every 200 Power Stones this week = +1 Extra Chapter

We could have the normal 2 Daily Chapters... Or +2 Extra Chapters Every Day. The power is in your hands! Or should I say Stones?