Delsin Novak
"Arthur wishes to see you."
"General Leywin?" I grew nervous. "Why... why would he want to see me? I'm—am I in trouble? I could've sworn that I'd reported everything to my superior—"
"No, you're not in trouble." She cut me off cleanly, her tone firm but not unkind. "He simply wants to see you. So please, follow me."
Before I could gather myself, her hand closed around mine, pulling me along.
"Delsin!" A voice came out loud, stopping us. I turned, already knowing who it was.
Berk.
"Where do you think you're going with this fine young lady, little bro?" A grin spreading across his face as he strode toward us.
I quickly pulled my hand free. "Berk! She's—"
"H-hi, I'm—um..." Caera stammered, not really knowing what to say.
"Ooooohh! I see, I see." Berk drawled, his grin widening.
"It is really not what you think it is, Berk."
"No, no, no, you got it all wrong, Delly." He waved me off before quickly turning to her with exaggerated enthusiasm. "Berk Bardryn. Pleasure to meet you." He offered her his hand.
And she offered him hers as she shook his hand. "...It's great to meet you, I'm—"
He cut her off. "Thank you so much, really, for, uh, haha—you know. Delsin here. Barely speaks to women. Big issue, in my expert opinion. But since we are at war now and there are some Alacryans here living with us too, as his big bro, I always tell him to be careful of who he's talking to."
Caera could only nod. "I... I understand..."
"Because..." I noticed Berk squeeze his grip on Caera's hand as his forearm began to flex out its muscles. "You never know. There's a chance that you might end up talking to an Alacryan." He continued lightly, though his eyes said otherwise.
"...I ...What?" Caera blinked.
"Or worse."
"Berk, that's enough. She's not—"
"Say," he cut over me, tilting his head and looking at her more closely now, "you wouldn't happen to be an Alacryan, would you?"
"Berk wait!"
Berk's hand reached to her hood with incredible speed and yanked it back, exposing her face completely and revealing...
"Nothing?!"
"What?!"
"Excuse you!" Caera pulled her back as she raises her voice.
"...I'm... sorry," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Didn't mean to make a scene."
Caera sighed in frustration. "Delsin..."
"Oh—right. Let's go." I stepped forward.
"Wait," Berk called after us. "where are you taking him exactly?"
"General Leywin wishes to see him." She replied evenly. "And it's none of your concern. Delsin won't be gone for too long. He'll return to his duties soon enough."
"..."
"I'll be back." I said before leaving with Caera.
***
"Was that dwarf your friend?" Caera asked as we wove through the crowded market.
"Hehe—He'd prefer to call us brothers," I replied, a faint smile tugging at my lips as we drew closer to the cluster of command tents in the far distance.
"He has sharp eyes, very sharp eyes." She made a remark and paused on her course so I could catch up.
"...Sorry about that."
She glanced at me, brow knitting slightly. "Why are you apologizing? I was praising him."
"Oh..."
We continued on. Then I slightly leaned in close to her. "Were you scared? I don't even know what would happen or what I should do if you weren't able to hide your horns." I whispered softly, enough for her to hear. "—And how did you even hide your horns anyway?! That was so cool!" Looking at where her horns should have been, I couldn't help but ask her and had to contain myself from being too loud.
"Oh, uh..." She blinked and seemed surprised. For a moment, she just stared at me, then she reached up, fingers brushing lightly against the shiny necklace. "It's... It's an artifact Scythes uses to disguise themself." She answered softly as she lifted it up by the chain for me to see.
"Ooooo..."
"Ahem—" She cleared her throat, putting the necklace back beneath her shirt. "Look. We've arrived."
Ahead of us stood a cluster of large, reinforced tents—far sturdier than the makeshift ones scattered throughout the city to replace people's destroyed homes. Since the military base was also destroyed to the point of being unable to be used for anything, the soldiers, generals, and the commander will have to stay in this camp site to train and work from now on.
"Where are all the royal soldiers gone?" I noticed. "There should be at least ten of them guarding the entrance."
"I'm sorry, Delsin..." As Caera's words rang softly in my ears, a sharp buzzing vibrated throughout my being, going from a faint prickle to a stabbing sensation. My hair stood on end, and my skin bunched up as if my senses demanded my full attention.
By instinct, I moved and dodged Caera's strike, quickly back away and maintain distance from her.
"Impressive!" She remarked, with one hand brushing the sand and dust off her clothes, the other casually lifting the greatsword from the shattered ground to her shoulder as if it were a toy.
"I was somewhat sure you'd turned on us much later." I lowered myself down, reinforcing my body with mana, not to fight back but to run. It does seem like a coward's way, but there was no way I could go up against her one on one like this.
I was outmatched.
So I ran away.
That was a loud noise, and yet nobody came? What is happening?!
"HELLO!?" My voice tore through the empty air. "Anyone!?"
No one.
Something is off.
Am I dreaming?
Is this even the real world?
A sudden surge of mana exploded outward—hers—crashing through canvas and woods as tents collapsed.
"Stop wasting your energy on running!!" Caera appeared in front of me in a blur. Her blade ignited fully in black flame. With a quick twist of her entire body, she swept the blade wide in a lethal arc.
I fell back and dropped myself down, letting the blade past over. I turned and slammed my hands and feet into the ground and launched myself back to the way out of this camp site.
Caera chased after me, swinging her blade for me to turn and barely slipping past each swing as I tried to break away.
Her leg drove straight into my gut.
"AGH—!"
The impact knocked the air out from my lungs and sent me flying back. I landed hard on the ground, and she was already above me with her blade charging down.
I rolled to the side. The strike slammed into the earth where my head had been, sending dirt and debris exploding outward. I pushed off the ground again as I ran.
"HELLO!?" I called when arriving at the market. "Anyone!?"
"There's no one here but you and me!" Soon enough, a slash struck.
I bounced out far enough to maintain distance.
"What is going on? Where is everyone?!" I finally talked, facing her.
"Somewhere...? I don't know, and like I said, there's no one here but you and me, Delsin." Caera said, preparing for another strike.
"Fine...!" Once again, I lowered myself down, thinking carefully about the limited options I have.
But it doesn't seem to be enough.
I need to be creative. Risky and stupid.
***
Third-person perspective
Delsin took out a knife, preparing to fight.
Caera charged at him as multiple blazing knives charged back at her.
Caera used her sword to wipe the knives out. But they exploded on impact. The deafening ring in her ears quickly faded, and smoke soon formed thick from the explosion. Caera, without stopping, continued to launch onward, blitzing out of the smoke to land a strike at the empty space where Delsin should have been.
He's moving fast between houses. The sound of his footsteps and the constant shattering of glass were created as Delsin constantly jumped from house to house at random.
Even though Caera could sense him through his mana presence. But just by moving fast, Delsin made it annoyingly difficult for Caera to catch up to his mana presence.
Confused at where to predict Delsin's next landing could be, Caera temporarily waits to adapt to learn his movement for her timing.
A blazing knife shot out of the window frame.
Caera jumped out far enough to avoid its explosion.
But Delsin didn't stop. More and more knives, along with shattered glass covered in a layer of flame, are continuously thrown at Caera, leaving her with no choice but to keep moving.
The knives and the shattered glass won't stop detonating, making Caera's ears terribly hurt and temporarily deaf as the tinnitus sound overwhelms her ears.
Couldn't take the pain any longer, Caera then slammed herself into the nearest house for cover.
The explosions stopped.
Caera came to look outside through the window, looking for Delsin. A blazing knife shot out from the upstairs window of the house opposite. Just one single knife. It passed well above her head.
The knife struck the far floor and stuck, still burning.
"...?" Caera turned and looked at the blazing knife. As the knife glowed, its brightness lit up the whole room, making the wooden crates come into view. Flame symbols stamped across every single one in that same disturbing red.
Because the Dicathens and the Alacrayans used similar languages. Caera was able to read what had been written on the crates.
"...Huh?" Caera's lips parted as she read the words both continents shared.
EXPLOSIVES – HANDLE WITH EXTREME CAUTION
"AHH—Fuc—" She quickly leaped out of the window as the knife detonated behind her, creating an even more powerful explosion that spread heat and fire out.
Caera got blown away, destroying crates full of goods as she landed.
"AHGG—!!" Her back is badly burned. The stench of charred flesh and scorched leather filled her nose. She could feel the skin from her shoulders to her waist blistering and cracking, the fabric of her shirt fused to raw flesh.
For one terrible second the world spun in agony.
As a Vritra-blooded human, she can conjure and manipulate soul fire, a form of decay mana art capable of consuming anything but doesn't actually burn. It is also capable of healing. While Caera can knit together minor cuts with this flame, regenerating lethal injuries like vital organs or severed limbs or even a charred back is a mastery reserved for those at the level of a retainer.
Enduring the pain, Caera dragged herself to find her weapon.
Seeing his chance, Delsin jumped out of the window, holding the sword downward as the flaming blade came straight down.
"AGHH—!" Caera turned, catching the flaming blade on time as it aimed at her neck.
Delsin put more mana on himself, making his body stronger as he pushed the blade down.
But so does Caera.
A clanging sound was created when Caera broke the blade in pieces while trying to deflect away from her neck.
"Ah—Fuc—" With a strong stomp of Caera's leg, she sends Delsin crashing through walls.
"Agh...!" As Delsin tried to sit up, Caera was already standing over him.
"...!" Her fist blurred.
The punch slammed into his face like a warhammer, driving him flat again.
Without stopping, Caera dropped herself onto him and kept landing her punches—each one heavier than the last as soul fire crackling around her knuckles.
Using both arms to endure, Delsin channeled more mana into his right arm. His right hand quickly rose in front of Caera's face, his index and middle fingers extended straight, pointing at her, while his thumb snapped up like a gun ready to fire.
Caera's eyes widened. She quickly grabbed his wrist as a spark of flame lit up at the tip of his extended fingers. She moved her head aside, bracing for what she knew was coming. However, to her surprise. The flame did not shoot out but instead became brighter and brighter so much so that it popped like a sunburst, unleashed a strong burst of light that blinded Caera's eyes in an instant.
"HAHA—!" Delsin laughed.
"AGhh—you—" Caera covered her eyes in pain.
Delsin shoved her off and dropped himself on her. Landing heavy punches of his own at her face before his hands clamped around her throat and squeezed, thumbs digging deep as blood gushed out.
"Grr—" Caera's fingers also dug deep into his forearms. Black soul fire erupted along her palms, eating straight through skin and muscle as it began its consumption.
"GRRRR—AGHH—!" Delsin gritted his teeth against the agony, refusing to loosen his grip as he pressed harder, leaning his full weight into choking despite the soul fire running up and almost covering his whole body.
They kept on killing each other—choking, burning, bleeding—until one of them die first.
***
Delsin Novak
"AHHHH—!" I jolted awake in some kind of shallow pool. I was soaking wet, but I didn't care. My hands flew across my body, prodding for the cold flame that should have been eating me alive.
"What?!"
"Delsin, it's fine. You're—"
I finally noticed Caera was right beside me, alive, talking. So without hesitation I reinforced my fist with mana and threw it at her.
She caught it.
I lunged, trying to shove her down, planning to choke her again.
"Enough!" Something pulled me. "You were going crazy in there!" I turned to see a powerful set of jaws clamped my collar and yanked me upward, water cascading off me in sheets.
"Sir Regis!?"
"Indeed." General Leywin's voice rolled calmly as he approached me. Beside him stood the scythe Seris and two others. One was a shabby tall man with greasy black hair, which spread over his face like wet seaweed, and the other was also a tall but more elegant man. Both of his eyes are closed, bringing further emphasis on a third, unblinking eye on his forehead that glows a radiant purple.
I stared at General Leywin, pleading for an explanation. "What is the meaning of this, General?!"