The girls rushed back to the Tower Spider as fast as they could.
Petra's actions would not go unnoticed, so they almost immediately felt the wrath of Imai. They dashed through the streets, weaving through dozens of guards.
By the time they reached the Tower Spider, the scene was worse than she hoped.
Bell was fiercely struggling against a small group of enforcers from the Sky Tower.
Petra's eyes flashed with anger.
She strode forward, grabbing the nearest tower mage by the arm, then, in a blur of green light, she crushed him flat, leaving nothing but a useless smear on the ground.
Without hesitation, she flicked her mind, repeating the same attack on all the other nearby guards.
Petra had truly had enough of today.
Her arm swept towards the remaining crowd, sending them all into unconsciousness after being engulfed in a purple mist.
Petra finally stepped inside the tower with the others.
On the way, she grabbed the signboard containing the barrier mechanism and held it tightly. She turned to Levy and asked her to quickly fix it
Levy nodded, her hands moving over the runes and changing them quickly in a way that Petra didn't understand.
Petra did a quick headcount while Levy worked.
Everyone was there, except…
"Kek, where's Dorthy?" Petra groaned, her eyes darkening.
Bell's voice was weak, trembling slightly. "She… she went into the city for something. I-I-I'm not sure what…"
Petra cursed for the umpteenth time that day. Her little face was so red that it almost hurt.
The instant Levy 'fixed' the barrier, the Tower Spider uprooted itself, shaking the ground as it lifted into the sky in one swift movement, then rushed through the city with a terrifying speed.
Petra had used the ants to detect Dorthy's location and to her dismay, she was already out of the city.
She just hoped that nothing too troublesome happened.
* * *
Dorthy stood on a small hill outside the city.
Her clothes were torn and her glasses were cracked. Her body was broken and bleeding. Her books were scattered around and a mass of different elements still lingered in the air.
The surrounding landscape had been devastated, clearly caused by a large battle.
Runic light wrapped around her like a serpent, slow and patient, biting at her skin and knitting itself into an ethereal binding that wove into her soul. The runes that flickered across the weave crawled across her arms and chest, tracing lines that followed her curves like a second skin.
Ahead, Arthur and Kilemin stood there, equally injured.
Dorthy spat, her body still trembling, "Seal? You want to use me to get to Petra?"
Arthur panted and answered slowly. "Yes, you know better than any of us how important she is, right?"
Dorthy just stared at him with a cold gaze.
She had been pulled away by an acquaintance, then tricked outside the city.
After that, these two attacked her.
Arthur chuckled awkwardly. "You've changed so much in such a short time. The you I met before would just submit and agree to our plan. Look, you're not even worried, haha" Arthur let out a dry chuckle.
For some reason, he had been feeling very tense.
It was impossible to put into words, but it was almost like an unseen claw was reaching towards his throat.
This sensation had started ever since the battle outside the city had begun.
Dorthy shook her head, her disheveled figure somehow shining more brightly then before, even as the seal began to close. "Theres a price for all things, I learned that the hard way."
Her glasses reflected the light, concealing her eyes and flickering with an unknown emotion.
"Did you?" Kilemin asked from the back.
Like Arthur, he had been feeling uneasy, but this meant something very different for him.
Dorthy looked at him and laughed.
She wasn't the least bit worried about the seal that had almost finished violating her body. "I sold my soul to the devil, so I no longer belong to anyone but her. I can tell from our fight. You can't 'see' her, right?" Her eyes behind the glasses narrowed. "If you could, you wouldn't be doing this."
Arthur pursed his lips
Devil?
She was right. The only way he could predict what Petra would do was by using the lack of predictions, like a hole in a painting.
Dorthy was completely submerged in the runic light.
Her voice echoed from the final cracks that closed with a guttural crunch.
"I wasn't sure myself, but after I saw what she really was, I understood that she is uncontrollable. You've made a mistake, a big mistake…"
Tok!
Kilemin looked up.
"She's here," he reminded.
Arthur turned toward the disturbance in the void that was rippling towards them.
Petra had arrived.
She jumped down, eyes flashing with rage, and landed in a cloud of dust.
"Petra?"
At that same moment, Elena appeared from a distance and witnessed Petra emerging from the void. She had fought off two of the Tower Pillars, but not before they had chased her towards this place, then disappeared.
Elena knew something was wrong, she knew she and Petra had been led here…
When she saw Arthur, she didn't need to think further.
She stood to the side, forming a three-way standoff with Petra, Elena, and Arthur.
Arthur smiled gently.
It was an unnatural smile.
It was an uneasy smile.
"This is the first time we've met, Miss Petra."
Petra didn't answer. Her eyes scanned the duo of Arthur and Kilemin, then locked onto the jade talisman in Arthur's hand. She spat, "Give it to me."
The voice that came out was clearly struggling to maintain something.
Kilemin furrowed his brows, but Arthur just smiled again.
"First, I need to confirm something. You are not from this world, right?" Arthur held up the bottle of poison that Petra had sold a few days ago. Indeed, the method to create that was not of this world.
Petra remained silent.
She looked at Elena, meeting her gaze briefly.
Elena's heart turned cold, suddenly sensing that something irreversible was about to happen.
Petra looked back at Arthur, something slowly stirring in her eyes.
There was an impossibly long pause, then…
She confirmed it for the first time. "What of it?"
Elena clenched her fists. She already knew, but that was supposed to be an unspoken secret between them.
Arthur nodded, expecting it. "Then, let me ask again. Why do you avoid being a hero?"
"Because I'm not."
Arthur shook his head. "You are. I'm positive."
He pointed at Elena. "Look, aren't you two the same? From the same home world, right?"
Elena clenched her jaw, but she didn't expect to hear Petra's next words.
"No, we're not. I'm positive that we're not."
Elena raised her head, looking back at her adopted sister in confusion.
Arthur tilted his head. "Why is that? You don't know about her secret?"
He was sure that Petra should have already guessed.
"Because she is from a much earlier period than me."
There was a pause.
Arthur shook his head, as if speaking to a child. "That doesn't mean anything. It's still the same place."
Petra didn't respond. Elena lowered her head again, her mind spinning with questions. She wanted nothing more than to have an open conversation with Petra, but now was not the time, and she knew it.
Arthur asked again, "Don't you ever want to go back?"
For Otherworlders, although extremely rare, they did appear.
'I want to go home,' was usually the only wish for these 'outsiders.'
Petra chuckled. She didn't answer Arthur, but looked at Elena. "What about you? Do you want to go back?"
Elena closed her eyes tightly. The revelation that Petra was from the future of her world changed everything. If she defeated the Dragon of Destruction and was sent home, would there even be a home to return to? Out of all of them, she understood best that going back in time wasn't as simple as returning to the past. That was her hope, the thread that allowed her to continue to fight. But now…
Elena clenched her fists. There might not be a home to return to.
After a pause, Elena nodded heavily.
"I still want to go back. I want to see my home again, even if its not the same."
Petras eyes swam with an inexplicable emotion.
Then…
She smiled.
"I have a teacher. She's very tight-lipped about Earth, but…" Petra turned her attention back to Arthur. "'Earth is the cradle of humanity', that's what she always says. That means it's the origin of all humans." She pointed at Arthur and Kilemin. "Look, aren't they human? Doesn't that mean Earth's reach is far greater than you or I can imagine?"
Elena widened her eyes.
Petra nodded to her. "I think our home might not just be a small dot in the vast cosmos. Perhaps neither of us are from the original. Perhaps… Its far grander than you can imagine."
"That's nonsense. Humans have been here since the beginning…" Kilemin cut in, but as he spoke, he slowly stopped, as if realizing something.
Arthur looked at him quickly. He shook his head, then looked back at Petra with determination for what he planned to do next. This was the point in fate that would change countless things, and he could see almost none of it.
He focused, then spoke.
"If you want Dorthy back, you have to agree to become a proper hero and fulfill your duty."
The air became still.
Elena widened her eyes, finally understanding what was about to happen.
Petra looked at him.
"You want me to sacrifice my life for this world?"
Arthur shook his head. "No. I want you to help protect it!"
"What do you think that means?"
Arthur stepped forward, raising his voice slightly.
It carried a slight fanaticism.
"We are heroes! We protect those who can't protect themselves! I want your help to stop the Calamities!"
Petra asked, "What will you do with Dorthy?"
Arthur shook his head. "We can't let her run away. Her ability is too important."
"And…?"
Arthur just gave a wry smile. He understood that Petra wanted him to say it directly.
"Do I really need to say it?"
Petra didn't answer. Instead, she asked, "And me? Will you also enslave me like a pet?"
Arthur waved his hands in the air.
"No, no, no! Nothing like that! We just need you to sign a magic contract so that you can't run away!"
"That's not necessary, is it?" Elena cut in.
Kilemin broke his gaze from Petra for a moment. "You want to side with her?".
"I-It's not that. I just don't think we need to go that far, right?"
Kilemin shook his head and looked back.
Arthur explained in his place. "My ability tells me that she is the key to ending these Calamities early. I can't see why, but everything depends on her, and she doesn't even care."
Elena furrowed her brows.
"I…" Elena felt hurt. If that was true, would she have to betray Petra's trust? Was Arthur trying to force her? She looked worriedly at Petra.
Petra looked back at her, indifferent. Despite that cold face, Elena could still feel that this little girl was the child she had taken care of for many years. At least, that's what she wanted to believe. She didn't want to hurt her. She couldn't. Her heart wouldn't allow it.
She clenched her fist.
"Elena…" Petra called out.
Elena looked back at her. The blonde-haired girl had unknowingly begun to cry, so Petra looked at her with sympathy.
"You were alone before, right?"
Elena forced back her tears, forcing herself to nod.
Arthur tilted his head in confusion, but Kilemin narrowed his eyes. Petra continued. "I'm the same. Even before I met you, I was always alone. Just me and my shadow on an endless journey to survive."
Elena saw genuine humanity in Petra's eyes for the first time, not that fake shadow that she had desperately tried to ignore.
It was like a flickering candle, ready to go out at any moment.
"I will be fine. You don't need to worry about me. This time, I have family and friends. I won't allow myself to be alone again."
She stepped forward, approaching Elena.
"I'm more worried about you than me, so don't cry."
Petra reached up and stood on her tippytoes, then wiped the faint tears that had begun to flow from Elena's eyes again.
"You just need to follow your heart. Don't let me get in your way. I promise, I'm strong. There is nothing in this world that can kill me."
Elena's head lowered even further.
Petra gently placed her hand on Elena's side.
"You don't need to worry about me, big sister. I can handle myself, even if the world turns against me. You just need to be a Hero. Don't let these guys change you, ok?"
Elena looked at Petra, conflicted. After a long pause, she eventually nodded.
Petra gave a small smile, then wrapped Elena and teleported her to another place in the city, away from here.
The black light flickered, then the field became silent.
With Elena gone, Petra turned her attention to Kilemin and Arthur.
Her gaze changed from the soft smile she had given Elena to a cold, cruel grin, flickering with hidden madness.
In that instant, Kilemin felt a chill run down his spine.
Unlike Arthur, he instantly knew that they had made a mistake. He remembered that expression, it was almost identical to the one from back then.
"Tell me, little bird, what can you see?"
Petra's body started seeping a black and green gas. Slowly, the black solidified into green claws flowing with black starlight. Petra's hands and feet grew into false dragon claws.
She stepped closer.
Kilemin's face became extremely serious. He knew in his heart that whatever Arthur had planned was doomed to fail the instant Petra's expression changed.
Petra stomped her small claw on the ground, then…
---!
Arthur heard a booming voice in his head.
"Dodge!"
Instantly, his body moved on its own, shooting backwards.
In that same instant, Kilemin twitched awake and thrust his arm at Arthur, attempting to push him away from something.
Riiip!!
A streak of black light, then a crash, then a blur.
When the dust settled, Petra stood where Arthur had been, her black claws holding a bloody eye, a bloody arm, a handful of colorful feathers, and the jade talisman.
Petra grinned like a vicious beast.
Her eyes spun like whirlpools, twisting into a storm of endless darkness.
This was no child.
"Oh~ I was only going for an eye."
The open field grew ice cold.
Kilemin clenched what remained of his left arm, while Arthur gritted his teeth, one hand covering his bleeding eye socket and injecting all his spiritual energy to suppress the poison that was trying to corrode his flesh.
Petra flicked her wrist, and the things in her hand blinked away in a flash of black light.
Her cold eyes shifted from Arthur to Kilemin with a deep meaning.
"Since 'those guys' seem willing to intervene, I won't kill you. Remember, I'm not a toy you can play with. The next time---" Her eyes sparked with an impossible pressure, "---You die."
Petra wrapped herself in a black light, tearing through space and disappearing.