Freya and Loki both fell silent.
Flanking Loki were Finn and Riveria, with Gareth trailing behind, his war-axe screeching against the ground. Beside Freya stood Allen and Hedin, with Ottar looming behind them like a sentinel.
On the roof of a house to their left, Tione knelt on one knee, her wrists locked around Hogni's demonic sword, sparks erupting from her silver vambraces at the point of contact.
Tiona's fist hovered an inch from Hogni's face, stopped dead by his open palm. He pushed her back, her bare heels screeching against stone.
On another rooftop to their right, Bete crouched between four armored pallums, his legs coiled to their limits, ready to lunge.
Further behind Gareth, Ais stepped toward them with Snowflake in hand. Winds swirled around her, ruffling her hair sideways, with Lefiya following in her step.
"Are you making a move on that kid?" Loki asked, her slit eyes widening fractionally.
Remaining silent for two seconds, Freya gently shook her head.
"Oh? Then what are you up to now?"
Freya adjusted the parasol over her head and spoke a single name.
"Ishtar."
Freezing momentarily, Loki's hands dropped down from the back of her head, smirk nearly splitting her face in two. "You're about to send her back?"
The parasol tilted, covering Freya's violet eyes in its shade. Only her jawline and lips were visible now, and those lips moved. "Yes."
"Man... I was about to go watch a big show, but now you're telling me there's an even bigger one going on in the background?" Loki brought her palms together and clapped once, her slit eyes tugging upward into creepy crescents.
"Loki," Finn warned, his fingers digging into his spear's shaft as his eyes shifted between Ottar and Freya.
"I know, Finn. But how can I miss watching that smug Ishtar get booted back to Heaven? Besides, if Freya is after that red-light queen, she doesn't have time to bother with us, right?"
Leaning forward, Loki clasped her hands behind her back, peering straight through the parasol into those violet eyes.
"You're right..." Freya paused. "But if your children touch him, you'll be next after Ishtar."
"Uwaah! So scary! My heart just skipped a beat." Tipping backward, Loki shot a hand to her chest. "Is this a new way you've found to propose to me, Fey-fey?"
Freya did not outwardly react, though her grip on the parasol tightened slightly.
"Are you done? If so, step aside. I need to reach Belit Babili."
Those words made Loki turn on her heel to face her Familia, spreading both arms wide.
"Alright, children, who wants to watch the kid spreading destruction? Those who want that, stand to my left. And who wants to watch a goddess get demolished? Those who want that, stand to my right."
Watching Loki's antics wordlessly, Freya raised a single eyebrow.
Riveria's voice rose. "Loki—"
"Hush, mama. Not now." Loki kept her arms spread.
Finn exchanged a glance with Riveria, and both sighed simultaneously.
Gareth, Ais, and Lefiya had reached them by now, while Bete jumped down from his rooftop, and Tione alongside Tiona from theirs. The whole Loki Familia assembled together.
The first to take a step was Ais. She moved and halted at Loki's left, Bell's side. Lefiya followed her lead, coming to stand beside Ais.
"I've really heard about that new rookie everyone keeps mentioning. Better to have a look now that I have a chance." His beard trembling, Gareth strode over to stand beside Ais, war-axe resting on his shoulder.
"Wohoo! Ghost of Sparta or a spat between two goddesses? Both sound super fun! Can I watch both? Pretty please, Loki?" Tiona grabbed one of Loki's hands and shook it.
"Hey! Tiona, stop! I'll feel lightheaded if you keep going," Loki said, her body jerking forward, shoving back, then jerking forward again.
Glancing at her sister's antics, Tione ruffled her own hair. She then looked toward Finn, who was inching toward Gareth, and made her decision.
"Leave Loki be, we're going with captain and Ais." She grabbed Tiona's arm, pulling her away from Loki and dragging her toward Finn.
Riveria rubbed her furrowed brow and strode toward Ais, her elf ears standing on end like a worried mother keeping an eye on her wayward child.
Only Bete was left standing there, glancing at everyone, then to Loki's other side. Finally, after three long seconds, he moved to Loki's left side, where no one else stood.
"Bete?"
"Bete, are you serious?"
"Have you thought it through?"
Reactions came from all sides, each different from the last. But Bete ignored them by turning his face away, only his grumble reaching everyone else.
"I'm not interested in that kid. Besides, Loki wants to watch Ishtar more, so someone has to be with her in case things go south."
Silence fell for a moment. Even Hedin and Ottar glanced over from their positions.
"Hahaha!" Loki burst out laughing, wrapping an arm around Bete's shoulders. "You are the only one who cares for lil' ol' me, Bete."
Then her voice dropped to barely a whisper.
"You're not scared shitless of the kid, are you?"
Bete growled at her.
"No need to feel ashamed. Look here." Loki brought her wrist up; it was trembling imperceptibly. "I'm scared shitless of him too."
His jaw fell open and Bete stared at her with wide eyes.
"So, both of us should go and watch Ishtar squirm and have a good laugh or two. Who wants to go watch that kid when a better option just presented itself?"
A moment passed before a cough interrupted them.
"Are you done?" Tapping her heel on the ground, Freya asked.
Allen's jaw tightened, and he held himself back, barely.
"Goddess, just allow me and I'll—"
Freya raised a hand, and Allen snapped his mouth shut.
"Alright, we're done here. Bete and I are coming with you to watch the fun, while my children are going over to Daedalus to watch the kid." Dragging Bete along with her, Loki turned and spoke.
"But Loki—" Finn tried to protest.
"Shoo. Shoo. Go have your fun, and don't worry about me. Freya won't attack me right now. She has bigger things to focus on."
Finn and Riveria sighed again. Ais was already shifting on her heels, her fingers sweeping across Snowflake's spine unconsciously.
Freya resumed moving, her heels click-clacking against the ground.
...
..
.
Daedalus Street.
Olivas surged. Knees bent, spine aligned, his legs driving him forward like pistons.
Bell crossed his arms in an X, forearm settling over forearm. His heels dug in, liquefying the ground and leaving furrows of melted stone in his wake as he slid backward.
Olivas' shoulders slammed into his guard.
He blocked, absorbing the blowback to fuel a reverse thrust. His body tilted further back, the edges of his breastplate shearing against air in a trail of sparks.
Bell slid in reverse. And the world slid with him.
A wooden tower—whisked past his left ear. A rooftop-spanning banner—ripped past his right shoulder, flapping ahead. Everything was stuttering in reverse. A collapsed street. A pile of debris. A man's face, eyes wide, mouth open—gone. All flashed past him, vanishing behind Olivas' advancing silhouette.
Olivas chased. Threw a knee strike, lunging forward.
Bell steered with his right heel, body tilting two inches leftward. The knee missed his side by an inch, wind bursting against his stomach.
The shockwave launched him sideways. Solid concrete, dust, and bricks slammed into his back. He burst through, shrapnel tearing into his skin and leaving trails of blood in his wake. But even mid-flight, his eyes stayed locked on Olivas.
Olivas sailed straight ahead into a Viola still mid-turn. His knee smashed into it, but instead of dying, the Viola came apart into green roots. They raced around his legs, enclosing them in an armor of parallel roots connected by a green, sticky substance.
"Hahahaha! I will finally show you what gift she gave me to deal with you, Bell Cranel!"
The creature turned on his heels, his new leg armor shifting with him. Weight dropping low. Knees folding—
Gone.
Two buildings away, Bell's pupils constricted to pinholes, dozens of blood vessels popping in his eyes. He was already moving before Olivas had even finished turning.
Hundreds of golden strings exploded across his vision, swarming in every direction and drowning everything in gold.
But he couldn't follow.
Too slow.
The space between those two buildings folded. In one frame he was still moving; in the next, air in front of him split open and Olivas' fist was already there. Against his stomach. Through it. Two buildings' worth of distance compressed into the length of a nail.
Bell's world stuttered as he felt another building's architecture fold against his spine, bricks, air, all of it crushed behind him. Then a second impact arrived.
From the folded space itself. Two buildings of compressed distance detonating across his chest, through his ribs.
His heart stopped for two beats. Air wrenched out of him. His body folded around the impact, breastplate caving, spine bowing inward.
He hit another wall behind him. Through it. Bricks splitting around his shoulders like water. More dust, shrapnel, and the taste of something metallic. His back found open air. Then another wall. Through that too.
The district came undone around him in a trail of destruction, each surface he hit arriving and departing in the same frame. Stone. Paint. Sky. Stone again.
He stopped.
In a building. Four buildings back from where he'd been standing, maybe five. The walls around him were still crumbling apart, air white with dust.
Olivas stood behind the hole his body had carved through, that green root armor writhing along his legs. Fist still extended. The space around him was still folded, the edges of those broken walls leaning inward, shadows bending at angles that hurt to look at.
He lowered his fist.
The district unfolded, slowly. Those walls straightened, shadows settled and the distance between them returned, real and measurable. Thirty yards of ruined buildings.
Olivas' eyes found Bell across the rubble, and he smirked.
"Do you see this now? Spatial folding."
He leaned an inch forward, looking down at Bell, arms resting at his sides.
"Tell me, what can your flames do about that?"
...
..
.
[Author's Thoughts]
Spatial folding? Is it? Or is our bro bluffing? If he is then what do you think his ability is?
One more thing, generally I don't explain the physics here, but I'll do it just this once because it might seem like a mistake if someone has not actually focused on what happens when you move at high speed in reverse.
Basically, when you move in reverse at high speed, everything at your sides seems like its passing right beside you when in actuality its meters away. That wooden tower? It cannot physically pass near his ear, but high speed gives the illusion that it just did. Same for the very large banner.
Have a productive day, everyone!