Chapter 122: High Noon.

It was strange to just be in my uniform. To stand here, to feel the power coursing through my veins. My blood was cold and dense. Like a raging river under thick ice. Every pump of my heart thundered in my chest.

Paradoxically, the chill was… warm. Inviting. Even the heat of the sun felt lacking in comparison. An errant breeze blew by, making my skirt flutter.

All eyes were on me, as it should be.

With my rifle out, uniform on. There was only one thing to do. “What do you think?” I asked, motioning towards my form.

Diana was silent. A flurry of emotions were raging in her eyes. Like a storm. Resignation, anger, frustration, and perhaps something else. Awe, maybe? Hope? I couldn’t quite tell.

“I can’t believe it…” She muttered eventually. Her own thoughts muddled, uncertain, at least from what I could see.

“Can’t you? After all, I am here before you, in the flesh.”

She bit her lips. “No, just…” She sighs. “Right, sorry, I didn’t mean too.”

Was she seeking to defuse the situation? Well, it didn’t matter. Not now.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.” I say, all too smoothly. “However, I happen to be suited up, my weapon out. It would be a shame to simply just, head back inside, no?”

“Are you suggesting?” She says.

“I am. Would you like the first move?” I say, another flourish, a mocking bow.

She grinds her teeth. Her eyes narrow. I could tell she knew this would be a bad idea, and yet, “Fine.” She said, “Just don’t forget that you asked for this.”

She extended a hand out, a whorl of wind formed in her palm. The air, was harsh, biting, cold. Almost like the gales that would lash at a mountain. With a snap, a crack, a final woosh of displaced air, it formed.

Her pick.

“You have a weapon… Rather, you seemed to have made your pick your weapon.”

“Indeed. I came to a realization thanks to Tabitha, you remember her, right?”

“I do.”

“Well, she awakened her spear naturally, and she’s insistent on awakening her uniform naturally.”

“I imagine she hasn’t succeeded.”

“No… she hasn’t.”

“I figured as much. It takes a special kind of someone to awaken their uniform.” I say, almost flippantly. Mostly just to get on Diana’s nerves.

She frowned, “And what kind of person would that be?”

“Someone that can confront their true nature and embrace it.” I said, all too calmly. “Now, are you going to come? Or am I going to have to come to you?”

She laughed. “I was actually getting ready while we spoke…” The moment she finished, she vanished. Where she had been, was a whirling patch of air and displaced dirt.

She came, almost silently. The only warning I had was an errant gust brushing against the edges of my cloud of rime. With a shift, I saw her, she wasn’t holding back, her pick was covered in frigid winds that smoothly ran along her weapon’s edge.

I stepped aside, not daring to take the blow head on, even with my rifle. Which proved to be a good choice when her pick crashed into the ground and unleashed an explosive blast that caused the ground quake. Following the explosive blast, razor sharp blades of wind burst out from the source of the explosion.

The blades of wind were easily blocked or bashed aside with my rifle, dispersing them. Not a moment after I was done, I felt her again, approaching from my side. I twisted my body and sent out a kick, catching her off-guard.

The blow connected with her side, almost perfectly, but the blow was softened. A membrane of wind absorbed the blow, dispersed it along her body and out, creating another shockwave that kicked up dirt and dust. Following through, my kick punted her into the ground.

I didn’t wait to see the results. Calmly, ritually, I reached into my bag and pulled out a clip of standard rounds and loaded them into my rifle. The moment my rifle was loaded, she came again.

She burst through the expanding cloud of dust and grit that tried to obscure her vision. It mixed with my rime, dulling my senses, and yet, at the same time expanded it. Which was why I noticed her first movement further out, just enough to aim my rifle and loose.

I didn’t hesitate; the bullet sang and punched through the obscuring cloud with ease. I didn’t see the result, but I felt it. A powerful gust of wind shot out from her, bashing the bullet aside with ease. It almost made me think back to how Éclair deflected bullets. Only, much less refined, and yet, still…

It was impressive.

I ejected the spent casing, aimed another round as she moved elsewhere. Another bullet fired, another gust blasted it aside. I wasn’t concerned as I continued. Diana seemed content to stay back, to let me waste my shots, but I could tell she was working towards something.

Quickly, I was proven right.

As the final round left my rifle, she came fast and hard. Shot forward, almost like she had been shot out of a cannon. A subtle tunnel of air had formed between her and me, creating a pressure difference that she abused. In barely a blink of an eye, she was before me.

My rifle shot up to block the blow, my body tilted just so in the process. Then the strike hit, hard. The force quaked through me, making the ice covering me crackle and shatter like glass in a hurricane. The ground below cracked and quaked as the blow went through me into the earth.

That wasn’t the end of it. The wind gathered on her pick exploded. Like a literal bomb going off in my face. With a thought, my rime surged and gathered, smothering the explosion, diluting its effect. Caught off-guard by the sudden surge of cold, and the rapid dispersal of her attack gave me a chance to press forward.

I pushed against the pick, throwing it up while the butt of my rifle shot forward, cracked into her chest. The membrane of wind that covered her absorbed the blow, well, most of it. I still hit something solid just before the membrane rebounded, sending her hurtling back.

With another thought, a vague gesture, the gathered rime swirled around me, mimicking what Diana was doing, and dispersed the cloud around me. With a single pulse, my vision was cleared. Revealing Diana on the ground, struggling to stand. Yet, she looked ready to continue, so I obliged.

I went to load my rifle up, but something caught my eye. A blur, a sudden movement, my rifle held up, aborting my attempt to reload. Something crashed against the stock of my rifle. A blade made out of blood.

“Raksha?” I say, confused. “What is this?” I question.

“I couldn’t just let her have all the fun, now could I?” She said, a bloodthirsty, manic look on her face.

I glanced around, I felt their gazes, the shift in the audience. “Well, I suppose I should oblige.” I said cooly, her blade was easily pulled aside, followed by a kick to her stomach that sent her away. I didn’t hold back. The blow had done serious damage, but as she rag dolled along the ground, blood swirled around her, healing her, and before she had even fully settled, she was already back up.

I chanced a glance toward Diana, she looked confused, but she didn’t seem against the sudden addition. So, I looked out over the gathered people. The crows above made quite the ruckus as I lifted my head and spoke.

“Anyone else care to dance?

The answer was immediate. Shadows shifted around me, coming to life. With a thought, a grunt, a silver bayonet formed at the tip of my rifle, and I swept through the forming shadows in a single breath, at the same time I leapt away, leaving a trailing arc in my wake.

Another person came surging forward, a magical spear in hand. They thrust at me, but it was a poor thrust, there was no way it would…

One moment the spear tip was nowhere near hitting me, the next, the tip of it was coming right for my eye. My whole body twisted in midair, contorting as I brought my rifle up to bat aside the tip.

There was resistance as my rifle met the tip. Like the tip was layered in numerous layers that enhanced its sharpness and power. Not expecting that resistance, the follow-though sent me into the ground.

The moment I hit the ground, I rolled on, just barely avoiding a new surge of shadows that came into being. The very moment they solidified they moved, it was single motion, a single sweep, thrust, slash, each strike aimed to cut off all avenues of escape.

I took what I could, feeling the shadow entities’ limbs cut into me as if they were real blades. Even then, they failed to properly injure me as my uniform absorbed the brunt of the damage, leaving only small marks on my uniform.

I heard a distant click of a tongue. I glanced over; a dour girl stood at the edge of the courtyard. I flashed her a smile, she gazed back, fascination in her gaze, a slight smile of challenge on her face.

Not a moment later I had my feet under me again. Diana was back, her pick came from the side, the swing wide. I didn’t block, and despite just getting back on my feet, I threw myself to the ground. Her pick swung by, and the entire arc of her swing just, exploded. Pushing me further into the ground, my rifle was held up and blocked a majority of the blades of wind that came surging out, but too many cut into my uniform leaving small cuts and gashes.

A following kick cracked into my side, sending me away, but not without Diana cursing out. “How the hell are you so hard?” She yelled, hopping on one foot.

I didn’t get to respond as Raksha came back with a new weapon in hand, less a blade, and more like a large axe. She raised high and swung down, forcing me back, the edge cut through the earth easily enough. She pushed forward, letting the edge of her axe dig into the earth as she followed my retreating form, only to rip it free, spraying earth everywhere and wildly swing her axe as I continued to escape and tried to stand.

More shadows formed just behind me, and I knew I wasn’t going to dodge them. Especially not as Raksha came rushing forward like an axe murderer.

Not wanting to eat so many blows, not this early, I snapped my fingers. All around me, the rime exploded. The shadows scattered, Raksha was sent flying, bloody and covered in ice. Diana was rebuffed, but not quite injured as the membrane of wind protected her from most of the damage.

The distraction gave me time to get back up, but once I started trying to load my rifle, that spear wielding man came right back. I was aware of his shenanigans, or at least wary, so when he thrust for my face, only for the tip to come straight for my calf, I was ready.

A blade formed at the sole of my boot, it slapped into the tip, whined, but held against the enhanced edge. My other leg swept out towards the man, my entire body twisting, using the spear tip as a fulcrum. Just before contact, a blade of silver formed at the sole of my boot. Its aim, his stomach.

Just before contact, I felt something odd. Followed by the feeling of something carving into my back. I followed through the motion, hit the ground, blades scattering as I dismissed them, and the man came forward again, a series of thrusts came forward, each time the tip would strike in bewildering places, forcing me back.

After that, his face was red. Breathing labored. “You must be Lance?” I asked, my breathing still somewhat even. Now no longer pressured, I could feel a slight twinge from my back. Had he redirected my attack? If so, that made him exceedingly dangerous.

“Yeah… Shit, your tough.” He said between heavy gulps of air.

“Your magic’s pretty good.” I said, all casually as I went to load my rifle. He noticed but didn’t try to stop me. Rather, I wasn’t sure he could. “I bet its rather intensive though.”

“Yeah, it is… But its good in a pinch.”

“I imagine it is, you’re the first to give me a real injury.” I said, finishing up the process of loading. My eyes drifted off Lance towards the others. The dour girl was at the edge of the ongoing scrum, but I could tell she was gathering herself for the next assault. Raksha was already up and peeling off frozen chunks of flesh, to reveal pristine skin.

Diana was mostly fine, the frost had clung to her membrane, but there was an obvious limp she had, likely from when she kicked me.

So far… it looked like I was winning. Truth was, I really wasn’t. The group was exchanging glances. My eyes flicked to the surrounding crowd, aware that if more people joined in, I’d be in trouble. Luckily, nobody else seemed keen to jump in. Not yet anyway.

The real problem was, I didn’t know how to go on with the offensive here. Lance could redirect my blows. Diana’s defense was competent, and unless I can lock her down, I wasn’t sure I could do any real damage to her.

As for Raksha… I had no idea where her limits lie. If it was based on how much blood she had stored, or if there was another mechanism to her magic. As for the dour girl and her shadows… it was clear she was going for support, but what would it look like if she actually went all out?

Honestly, I wanted to see. I wanted them to go all out, only, how?

It was frustrating, galling. It made me think to my fights with Éclair. I was more of a defensive fighter, rather, all I could do was react most of the time. The few times I went on the assault, it was rather straightforward…

And really, that is all I can do. I didn’t need to win. Not really. I just wanted to show them what I could do.

Rifle loaded, and with everyone ready. I could see they were exchanging glances, non-verbally confirming their next move. Which made this the best time to move.

I stomped forward. I pulled the trigger, rifle aimed at just beyond Lance, right for Diana. The bullet sang like a choir. Of a dozen voices or more joined together. Lance flinched as I closed the distance. His eyes stuck fast to my bayonet that swung towards him after I fired.

The swing came short, but I used the chance to push closer and punch out. The choir’s song lost a voice as it hit Diana’s barrier. It rebounded with excessive force, cracked into the ground, another voice lost as it shot right for Lance’s back. Meanwhile, my fist was hurtling towards his face.

His teeth grit, eyes focused. I could tell what he was aiming for, but right before I could hit, right before the bullet found its home in his back, Lance went rigid. His eyes widened. Unfocused.

There was a strange shudder that ran through him and through my fist as I pushed through. I cracked into his jaw with all I had, just as I felt something punch into my side. Ignoring the pain, I followed through, sending Lance to the ground and out cold.

Not a moment later, everyone was on top of me. Diana was at the front, Raksha just behind. The surrounding ground was black, as if a prodigious amount of ink had been spilled. Out of which countless shadow figures burst out with lance-like arms.

I was surrounded. Hemmed in. Put on the back-foot… and really, this was perfect.

I shot forward, meeting Diana in the middle. My sudden motion took her by surprise, but she swung her pick all the same. I snapped out a punch for her face faster than she could react. All too quickly, the blow connected and the force of the strike, aided by her own shield’s rebound was enough to redirect her pick.

Although it didn’t hit me directly, it swung by my shoulder, but just that was enough to rip and tear into it as the arc of her swing exploded. With the explosion, Diana went flying away, and blood sprayed out as a chunk of my shoulder was shredded and along with it, my whole arm became unresponsive, well, at least mostly. A flex of ice and will had the hand clenching and unclenching. Enough to be useable.

Raksha came second, filling in the Diana shaped whole in the line. A thought, a flex of magic had the gathered rime surge forward, forming into a literal wall of spears. She barely had time to react to the assault. The spears pounded into her, but the damage was minimal. What did matter, was all the frost covering her frame, keeping her in place.

That was when the surrounding shadows surged forward. Not as one, but in waves with choreographed precision. I moved and shifted between thrusts, avoiding most of them, but many more scored glancing blows that tore into my uniform as its durability wore down. Some even left marks on my skin.

After the first surge of shadows, more came to fill in the gap. With each wave growing more numerous, and with each wave, the dour girl notably grew more exhausted. Yet, just before she could collapse, Diana once again shot for me, her face bloodied, nose likely broken and hopping on one foot. Raksha was busy extricating herself from the forest of spears. The ice clinging to her body made it difficult to heal or simply tear herself free.

Granting me a chance.

I didn’t confront Diana. Instead, I bolted out of the encirclement, my eyes on the dour girl at the edge of the clearing. I simply bashed through the still forming shadows, their forms oddly brittle, unsteady as her magic waned.

With a hint of panic on her face, the girl hastily summoned a wall of shadows to bar the way. I hastily ejected the spent casing and loaded the next round. I wasn’t quite sure what the next round was, but on pressing the trigger, a discordant cry made itself known.

Right before the bullet punched into the line, it exploded, sending ice shrapnel everywhere, puncturing and obliterating the wall of shadows. I burst through the lingering darkness, only to be faced with a line of shadows wielding spears, like, actual tangible spears.

Idly, I remembered the box of weapons. Surely, those were hers, no?

Still, even faced with real weaponry, I wasn’t concerned. The uniform would hold and not just that, none of them were aimed at anything vital. I simply pressed on to the dour girl’s shock. The spears slammed into me, clearly, they weren’t simple mundane weapons as they cut through and punctured my icy flesh.

After making their strike, the shadows dispersed. She hastily tried to form more, but I made a wild swing of my arm. It didn’t hit, but the threat of being hit had her backpedal, her surging magic faltered, enough for me to step closer and snap out a kick.

My foot cracked into her side, I felt something give as I followed through, sending her flying away. I hardly had the time to appreciate what I did before Diana came roaring back.

I moved, her pick slammed into the ground and exploded out. With my injured arm, I went to rip out the spears impaling me, uncaring for the increasing damage to my body.

Diana, bloody, favoring a leg, in comparison to me, riddled with holes and cuts, a large gash at my back where my silver blade had passed. Then there was Raksha. She stumbled up. Clearly exhausted, at the end of her rope. Purging the ice out of her system must have taken a lot out of her.

We considered each other. Dana watched as I ejected another casing, loading up the next round. A quiet fell over the town center. Even the crows were silent as they watched from the rooftops.

A moment, a pause. As if waiting for some unseen signal before starting again. However, over it all, my heart hammered in my chest. A warmth, a rising heat slowly coming to the fore. A single question hammering in our collective skulls.

Who would win?