August 29th
10:20 PM
After leaving Raphaella and Jack alone in the apartment, I started patrolling the city. While I would need Jack to try and locate potential people with an affinity for magic or anything that could give me a lucky sign about it, I admit it would be better if I made a mental map of the city, especially at night, a time when I can use less of my Invisibility spells and use the winds to aid in my reconnaissance.
*observing the city from a tall building*
I can see some people on the streets. Some in groups leaving still busy places, others alone requesting vehicles to go home, others walking along the lonely streets. I don't see many animals or creatures merely similar to those in my world, having only seen them through art or similar things that Raphaella calls the Internet. I was even surprised that many creatures I've seen in my world are also referenced here, but they're seen as creatures of fantasy or fairy tales, just like in my world.
*feeling the wind on my face*
The wind isn't signaling anything abnormal either. Aside from the bad smell and some signs of smoke, the wind here is relatively normal compared to my world. The mild climate also contributes to this minimal wind I'm feeling, but enough for me to memorize all the busier places in this city.
"So… Do you want to try it with me?"
Oh, my father… Why did I even say that? I know I said it intending to provoke Sebastian, but I didn't expect him to take it so lightly. For someone used to receiving this kind of provocation, I think it's fair that he acted that way, but… honestly, I should reconsider how I act with him. He may be a humorous guy, at peace with his life, but I don't think I should go down that road with him. Besides, it won't make sense to prolong this after we've completed my mission and Jack's…
*remembering Sebastian's smile*
Come on, Ellyn. He's just a boy. Forget about it…
- (?) Hey, get away from me!
This sound's coming from that alley. What is…
- (?) Hey, cutie. Don't tell me you don't want it now? You've been teasing me all night and now you want to leave without a kiss or something?
- (?) I said I wasn't ready…
- (?) Nonsense. But now, I want something...
- (?) Stay away, you idiot!
What a mess… I was hoping that at least the men in this world weren't assholes or persistent as they are in my world, but that doesn't change even here. I think I can give the girl a hand…
*I make my bow appear in my hands and create a basic green arrow using the wind*
- (?) Stop with this crap! Let me feel you~~
- (?) GET OUT! Help!
- (aiming at her leg) Just a scratch for him to learn a little bit about what not to do.
Without thinking much, I fire an arrow that ends up grazing the guy's leg.
- (?) Ouch! What the hell was that? It was you, you…
- (? pulling away from her) Leave me alone. It wasn't me!
- (?) You're going to… Huh?
Wait… that…
- (?) Didn't you hear the girl, man? Leave her alone.
- (? pulling out a knife) Mind your own business, you fucking idiot! You don't want to mess with me!
- (? frowning) If I were you, I'd put that down.
- (?) Don't tell me what to do, you…
With a simple snap of his fingers, the knife in the guy's hand begins to heat up to the point that the iron melts, creating a burn on his hand, leaving him terrified by what had happened…
- (? dropping the knife) What the hell is this?
- (? approaching) Miss. Come here. He won't hurt you.
Without saying much, the girl runs towards him, but when she passes by him, he ends up grabbing her arm. And to his misfortune, there wasn't time to react fast enough for her eyes to glow orange.
- (?) May your karma punish you for this~~
*flames begin to emerge from their feet and try to consume him*
- Enough!
Before the flames could engulf his body and eventually hit the girl in the process, I managed to conjure a protective spell that prevented the flames from completely burning the boy, only lessening the damage. The girl ended up falling to the side with part of her arm slightly burned, and I wasted no time getting down from the building and reaching them. The flames began to die down, but the intensity was enough to knock him unconscious on the ground, his body in pain from the burns. When I got down, I only saw this woman I know very well… Not because of her modern clothes or her behavior, but because of… the smell of ashes.
- (? surprised) Daughter of the Wind… Who would have thought I'd see you here, right?
- (Looking seriously at the woman) How did you end up here?
Why this woman of all people? 1.74 meters tall, white skin with a slightly tanned tone, scarlet red eyes, long messy hair with black tones in her bangs that give way to a red tone in the rest of her hair, wearing a black tank top, black skinny jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. Her posture suggests yet another of those mature and rebellious adult women, just as she is.
*Looking her up and down*
Her name has been forgotten for a long time, but her title has always been associated with her power as a Gacha like me. Many say that goodness and evil are two sides of the same coin that all beings develop as they grow, and through their actions, proportional rewards or reactions occur with these beings. And in a world where a good portion of people are evil, they often end up receiving retaliation, and this woman is the one who does that in my world. The power to manipulate reality or even apply random retaliation to those who wish her harm… or burn them with her flames that work most efficiently against these people… Her title would be obvious... Karma.
- (Karma smiling sarcastically) Enjoying what you're seeing, fern plant?
- (looking seriously) You didn't answer my question.
- Tch. Likes to ruin the moment as always.
- (groaning in pain) What… are you?
I spin my hand creating a green powder similar to the one I created to knock out Cassandra when she almost caught me red-handed at Sebastian's house, and blow it towards the girl who ends up breathing the powder and passes out as if she had fallen asleep, but I hold her so she doesn't fall hard to the ground. I grab one of the talismans Jack made for me in case I get hurt and place it on the boy, who is starting to heal from the burns enough to make it look like an accident or something.
- (Karma frowning) If I were you, I'd leave him writhing on the ground. At least he'd learn his lesson.
- (twisting my hand and blowing this green powder on him too) Yeah, with him knowing our faces. No way I'd let that happen.
- (Karma) Why not?
- (standing and looking seriously at her) Stop stalling. How did you get here, Karma?
*we start hearing police sirens approaching as if someone had triggered them with the girl's scream that was heard earlier*
- (Karma sighing) I was liking these shoes…
- What?
BOOM!
Damn it! Karma ended up pressing her feet together, creating a small explosion on her feet and giving a giant leap onto the building where I was.
- COME BACK HERE!
I manage to make the same jump, but when I reach the top… Karma was waiting for me with her palm open and a gigantic wave of fire coming towards me.
- (Karma smiling and bringing the wave with a wave of her hand) You won't spoil my fun, Ellyn!
I see the wave of fire turning into almost a wall to distance myself from it. I manage to jump back in time to avoid being caught by the fire. I notice her preparing another explosion to distance herself from me.
- (pulling the wind with my free hand while holding my bow) No way, you wretch!
In a matter of seconds, I absorb enough wind to create an arrow, I throw myself back and using my energy, I fire the arrow which manages to pass through the wall of fire and I see it passing 1 centimeter from Karma's nose when she turned to see where I was.
- Damn… What?
The effect of her power. I ended up falling to the ground of the building in a completely wrong way, which would be difficult to happen because of my fighting style, but her power always activates in a strange way. When someone tries to hurt her intentionally, the world molds itself for something to happen randomly, but because of my powers, the effect is mitigated.
*looking at Karma in the distance creating another explosion to propel herself to another building*
- (absorbing the wind creating another arrow) Is that how it is, Karma? Very good. I love a little hunt~~ Caelus!
I fire an arrow into the sky that disappears into the dark skies of the city, but it bursts upon reaching a certain altitude, creating a kind of net screen made of green energy that only I can see, which allows me to locate any target I want as long as it's within the screen's range and I've somehow sensed its scent. Since her scent is unique because of her powers, I trace the path she will take.
- Celeres!
My eyes and feet begin to glow the same green hue as my magic. With just a few steps, I give myself a quick boost, allowing me to run at a speed high enough to catch up with Karma.
- (Karma thinking) Damn it. Just when I was enjoying this part of town… Too bad, time to get out of here… Huh?
- (Appearing beside Karma and looking directly at her) Seriously, you're going to run away from me?
Karma jumps back and uses her open palm to pull another wave of fire towards me, and when she throws this wave at me, I spin my bow along its string to create a small vortex of wind to direct the wave upwards so it doesn't hit me.
- (Karma) You're not the one who knows a few tricks, fern!
Because of the effect of her power, I don't notice her approaching from below and preparing one of her feet to cause a fire explosion against my abdomen.
BOOM!
- Damn it!
I'm pushed back by the explosion, and she uses the impact to distance herself enough to jump to another building and continue her run. I get up quickly enough, touching my exposed stomach because the impact vaporized part of my shirt.
- (Karma yelling in the distance) Idiot!
- (Becoming serious) Okay. My turn. Let's see if they answer me.
I point one of my fingers to the sky, and at the tip of my finger, green energy begins to emerge. When the energy gets stronger, I point it to where Karma is…
- Asnasl…
From the sky, a small green glow appears and disappears in a matter of seconds. The arrow has been fired. And it will hit wherever I want…
- (Karma entering a building under construction through another building) Damn it. I need to get rid of this pest soon. It had to be the best hunter of Elementia who per…
Before Karma could finish that thought, instinctively, she looks up and feels a beam of green light that passes through her leg and across the building to its base, a distance of 25 meters from the ground.
- (Karma falling to the ground) DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
I found you…
- (Karma trying to get up) That b****! The audacity of that…
Karma only sees me as a green shadow watching her from atop another building like a predator hunting defenseless prey. I simply use the momentum of my feet from my quick movement magic and move towards her.
- (Karma starting to extend her hand to cast a spell) Inferno!
Before I hit her, I manage to dodge a circular wave of fire she used to defend herself from my advance. I conjure a green energy staff and manage to extend it enough to hit Karma in the face and push her against the wall, but as a counter-effect, I end up throwing myself against the same wall, hurting a little in my back.
- (getting up quickly) It would have been easier to just answer my question, don't you think, Karma?
As I approach her, she extends her hand, generating a small wave of fire towards me, which I manage to dodge by jumping back, but I don't notice that she extends her hand with a closed fist and when she moves it as if to punch me, the jaw of a shark made of flames comes towards me.
- (Karma yelling) LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU IMBECILE!
I manage to dodge this bite, but when I was about to use this energy staff to defend myself, I see Karma use her other hand to create a whip of fire that catches my leg and pulls me towards her.
- (Karma) Learn to mind your own business!
POW!
I try to break free, but I get within her reach and she manages to land a punch on my face.
- (smiling with blood dripping from her mouth) What a weak punch!
I absorb the punch and return the favor with a kick, compressing air in my foot which hits her abdomen, throwing her backward against a metal beam. I dive to the side before a piece of metal breaks loose from the metal beam and heads towards me as an effect of her powers, but I manage to dodge in time.
- (Wiping the blood from my face) That's enough running, you idiot!
- (Karma trying to stay on her feet and breathing heavily) You're much tougher than… I imagined.
- (Getting up and conjuring the energy staff) So… you still want it the hard way? I still have the energy to give you the beating you've deserved for a long time.
- (Karma remaining on her feet even with her leg pierced and bleeding) I'm going to burn that pretty face of yours so the last thing they'll remember about you is your demigod pride going to hell.
Karma begins to fill her hands with living flames that intensify and burn some nearby metals. I, on the other hand, begin to pull the wind around me, generating a green aura near me that is channeled into the staff.
- Go for it, you…!
- (?) Enough, you two!
Before we could attack each other, a wall of water appears in our path, and without realizing it, a rope made of white energy binds Karma's hand and feet to the metal beam. Appearing from a glass portal, Jack Ace emerges, staring at me and Karma.
- (Jack) Ellyn, next time you shoot your star arrow, at least let me know! I thought you were trying to kill something. And it's a good thing that wasn't the case, wasn't it… Karma?
- (Karma frowning) That's all I needed. The little wolf from the children's parties...
- (Jack conjuring a rope of blue energy to gag Karma) Watch what you say, queen of the half-baked pirates.
Jack looks up and sees the hole left by Ellyn's beam of light, making him frown, noting that if that move was solely meant to eliminate someone, Ellyn would have succeeded.
- (Jack pointing at Karma while looking at me) Wouldn't it have been easier to just ask her?
- (speaking while sitting on the floor) What do you think was the first thing I did, genius?
- (Jack) And it seems it didn't work. Okay. Second chance. Karma… how did you end up here?
- (Karma sarcastically) Are you going to hit me too if I don't tell you?
- (Jack) No, I'm not that low. But I can get the truth out much easier than she can.
- (Karma) Tch. Then it's just a waste of time. I have no idea.
- … WOULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN BETTER TO SAY THAT FROM THE BEGINNING, YOU IMBECILE?! It would have saved me from doing all this.
- (Karma) For you to tell me, "Oh, let's help each other when we get back home as friends…"... Go to hell, right? It's much more interesting here than in our world.
- (Jack) Karma, that's not why Ellyn and I are here.
At that moment, when I put my head down to think and reflect a little more, I realize something that makes more sense with her presence.
- (Karma) Oh… That's intriguing, to say the least.
- (Jack) Honestly, I'm not really in the mood to fight, and we're kind of running out of obvious options… If you cooperate with us…
- Jack, wait…
- (Jack looking at me) What? Just because you hit her doesn't mean that…
- (looking seriously at Karma) …You were the one who was burning people alive in this city?
A silence falls between us. Even though we are Gachas and our goal in the end is to protect the worlds we are associated with, it's noticeable that not everyone has the same line of thinking as heroes. Karma is an example of that. In our world, her power is very effective because many beings who try to hurt her or get close to her usually have bad intentions and are always retaliated against, but this doesn't apply to her, since she is considered the Pirate Queen in Elementia, which only makes it clear that her methods of demonstrating her power against others are by being as cruel as those she retaliates against, and since this is basically something she sometimes doesn't need to activate…
- (Jack looking at Karma) Hey… Karma?
- (Karma looking at me with a smile) So what? What are you going to do?
I begin to absorb the wind around me. Jack is slightly pulled back by the effect of the wind pressure being generated.
- (Jack) Ellyn?!
- (Karma speaking, laughing) Look at that. You got angry because I burned some people who deserved it?
- (generating a different arrow) Shut up.
- (Karma) Did you really think the people here are so nice? Too bad my power only says something you don't want to accept because of your heroine ways, isn't it?
- SHUT UP!
My bow appears and begins to take on a different shape, as if branches were sprouting from it, assuming a wilder form, while my green aura begins to emanate from me.
- (Jack) ELLYN! Stop it! There's no reason for this…
- (Karma) Let it go, Jack. She's so silly to think that the humans here are as kind and gentle as she wants to let herself be. That must be why she cares so much about that boy you want to protect.
At this moment, there won't be a mission that will make that wretch suffer even a little of the pain I suffered…
*green aura sucking in more wind*
- (Jack holding on) ELLYN! STOP!
- Very well, Karma. You can say whatever you want about me…
Green markings begin to appear on my body, but most create a tangle of lines that connect to my bow, transmuted into what appears to be a gigantic deer antler with tree roots forming its composition. I pull the string of my bow, and an arrow emerges entirely of an extremely dense green energy, leaving Karma intently observing the arrow.
- But if you mention this boy as proof that I'm wrong about the humans here… I won't hesitate to end your existence right here and now.
- (Karma sighing) Let's leave that for another time…
With the wind pressure, the part of the building that was being burned by the flames of her hands, plus the air pressure I was absorbing, caused the floor she was standing on to give way along with the beam, making her fall backward along with the metal beam.
(Karma) See you later, s******!
A purple portal appears behind her with two hands made of shadows that grab her and pull her into the portal.
- (Jack) Ellyn!
I just grab the arrow and shoot it at her before she can completely leave. Imbued with my energy, the arrow goes towards her, and when the portal closes, I only notice that the arrow went with it.
- Maledictum… Damn…
I throw myself to the ground, exhausted from having used so much energy solely for that arrow and summoning the perfect form of my bow.
- (Jack approaching me) Ellyn… Hey, are you okay? Don't fall asleep, I'm not going to carry you on my back.
- (breathing heavily) Cough… Let me rest for a minute…
- (Jack taking one of his talismans and placing it on me) Here. This will help.
- (relaxing more as Jack's talisman activates) Uhhhhh… Better this way… Jack… does Luni know about this?
- (Jack having an epiphany) So that's what Raphaella meant by…
- What did Raphaella say?
- (Jack) Well… the day we arrived, she said she saw 5 lights, not 2. If that was our arrival time, then that means…
- (I'm starting to have an epiphany) … 3 other Gachas came here with us?
If that's true… then we have a big problem ahead of us…