Anna

Anna wiped away the rain on her face. The incessant patter immediately grew oppressive. Each droplet felt like being splattered with a coat of slime. A low-hanging mist permeated the ruins of the Black Shoal. Visibility fell. But Flesh Devourer's presence was a looming constant amidst the torrential rain.

The Thanatos inmate, now physically warped by mana, was stomping around. Each step sent shockwaves into the earth. Their bulbous, bloody eyes darted the vicinity. Scanning. Searching. Looking for something to eat.

Anna and Kai were situated on the opposite sides of a ravaged road. Rubble littered the lane, creating makeshift obstacles to hide from the towering monstrosity. Kai was concentrated on circulating mana. His face was twisted in a painful grimace as he tried to weave the ethereal energy in his hands.

Please hurry up.

She peeked over her hiding spot to track Flesh Devourer's location. The behemoth effortlessly plowed through multiple collapsed buildings during its search. There was no semblance of intelligence in its movements. The Thanatos inmate must have been purely moving by instinct at this point and information felt its distorted senses.

Without warning, Flesh Devourer let out an excited squeal.

The high-pitch noise radiated glee as the monstrosity stomped back and forth like a dancing child. His bulbous eyes narrowed with the glint of a predator. Its serrated teeth gleamed with intent. The monster had found something to eat.

Flesh Devourer suddenly snapped his head to the right. His massive tongue extended. The fleshly mass whipped across the space, smashing into the rooftop of a residential building. Terrified screams suddenly cut through the roaring rain.

There are still civilians nearby?!

A burst of anger inflamed her chest. She had mistakenly assumed that her parents and the Seibert Merchant Company would have evacuated everyone out of the area. Were her expectations too high? In hindsight, there was probably very little that a single merchant company full of Ordinaries can do in a disaster of this calibre.

Anna ran out of her hiding spot.

Flesh Devourer towered before the ruins of a building. The top half of the structure had been shaved off cleanly like knife through butter. On the ground level, a group of civilians were stumbling out of the destruction. Falling debris rained down in their vicinity.

They were slow. Unbearably slow.

Anna realized why they had remained in hiding instead of evacuating.

The group was filled with elderly. The few individuals that didn't look old enough to be her grandparents were either crippled or suffered from some form of debilitating disability. A cast of misfits. They had stayed behind probably because they couldn't keep up with the speed of the evacuations. Rather than slow everyone down, they chose to free everyone of their shackles instead.

A painful headache stuck the side of her skull. She instinctively tried to kickstart Volt—only to be rebuffed by a nasty backlash. Ironically, that was a good side her body was starting to recover from Overclock. But it meant she could nothing for the helpless folks before her eyes.

"Kai!" she yelled into the rain, "There's still civilians nearby! Flesh Devourer is on them!"

"Almost done!" he growled back.

The mana in his hands finally began to spread. The motes of light gathered in an open space just few meters to the side of Anna. They spiraled with intent, drawing the vague silhouette of a construct that rivaled Flesh Devourer's size.

The earth shook. Oblivious to growing mass of mana, Flesh Devourer stomped after the hapless civilians. His excited squeals were accompanied by terror.

"Swell, Naiad!" Kai commanded.

Rain and water soaked in earth were drawn towards the mana cluster. The liquids flowed together, weaved into the form of a humanoid construct. Naiads were creatures of mythology—a type of ancient spirit composed entirely of water. Kai's summon had a faceless upper half that resembled a human while its lower portion was a formless swell of water. Mana was the glue that held the construct together and allowed it movement. The incessant rain supplied the material to sustain its form.

The Naiad snapped into existence.

At the same time, Flesh Devourer chomped down.

The ensuing crunch of flesh and bone was the most horrific sound that Anna had ever heard. One of the elderly's upper half had been snapped apart in Flesh Devourer's jaws. Gore splattered outwards like a burst pipe. The Thanatos inmate chewed and slurped voraciously as it indulged in its meal. The elderly victim was a bloodied mess. Their remaining lower half flopped onto the ground, the gore quickly doused by the raging rain.

Anna stifled a cry. The rest of the civilian group was frozen in place, apparently overwhelmed by the nightmarish ordeal. Flesh Devourer swallowed loudly. Blood painted its sword-shaped teeth and its tongue was smeared in chewed up chunks of meat. Its crimson eyes flickered onto the terror-stricken civilians.

The Naiad lunged.

The giant water construct glided across the watery ruins. Its humanoid upper half cocked back one of its arms and threw a heavy punch onto Flesh Devourer's face. The strike resonated like a wave crashing ashore. Water sprayed everywhere. Flesh Devourer groaned, recoiling from the attack.

Kai stepped into a punch and the Naiad followed suit to unleash another blow. The water construct was mimicking his movements. Thin strings of mana linked the two together. There was a second of delay as Kai's actions traversed down the mana thread, but otherwise their movements were synced.

Relentlessly, Kai continued his assault as the Naiad wailed on Flesh Devourer.

The battle of the two titans crowded Anna's sight. She could no longer see what happened to the group of civilians still stuck on the other side of the brawl.

Is there nothing I can do?!

She scanned the area, trying not to be distracted by the calamitous fight happening in the background. Crossing over to where civilian group was felt like suicide especially when she was currently barely stronger than a well-built Ordinary without being able to use her Gift. And even if she made it over, what could she have done? It was arrogant to think that she could escort a group of immobile civilians alone.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

She winced from the spray of water against her eyes. Each punch unleashed by Naiad sent a deluge everywhere. The strength of the water construct was disturbing. Is this something that he could only do in the rain? The mana required to sustain a construct of this size must have been enormous. Every hit from the Naiad tore apart chunks of Flesh Devourer's body. But the damages dealt to the Thanatos inmate were regenerated in an instant. Flesh Devourer squealed in pain, but his form showed no signs of deterioration.

The Naiad suddenly stopped moving. Anna turned to Kai. He was slumped over, grasping his chest.

I knew it.

The strain on his body must have been immense.

Flesh Devourer shook off the last blow. The tenderized mess of his vessel restored itself within seconds. Its eyes landed on Kai, seemingly aware of the Naiad's source.

Sensing danger, Kai immediately resumed his assault. But the second of delay between him and the Naiad's movements became fatal. The Naiad barely raised its fists as Flesh Devourer's tongue tore through the water construct's form. Mana holding the Naiad together trembled in chaos. The backlash rippled down the mana strings onto Kai. He staggered backwards as though stuck by a powerful force. Blood ripped itself out of his mouth as he struggled to maintain the water construct's integrity.

Flesh Devourer charged.

Anna was already mid-sprint, having expected something to go awry. Her severed Azurite pendant rested in her hands. She tried to activate Volt to speed herself up, but her body only responded with pain.

Goddammit, still?!

Kai was motionless, knocked into a daze from the mana backlash. The Naiad collapsed back into a pool of water. The mana holding it together spewed outwards into a violent vortex. Flesh Devourer's shadows loomed overhead. Each footstep thundered in Anna's ears, growing closer to her friend with every passing second.

She lunged, throwing herself at Kai's staggered body. Flesh Devourer's tongue lashed out a second later. The fleshly mass shot ahead like a whip.

I'm going to reach him in time. She thought as time seemed to slow. She was going to push Kai out of danger. But there was no guarantee that her momentum would also carry her out of Flesh Devourer's striking range.

That was fine, she mused. She had already been resolved to die. Kai had already saved her once from certain death. Now she was paying him back this debt, albeit earlier than she had expected to.

The air around her suddenly cooled.

A thunderous crash echoed behind her. The nauseating squelch of flesh being tenderized filled the air. Anna barreled into Kai as the two of them tumbled into a cluster of rubble. Flesh Devourer's tongue struck nothing as the monstrosity was abruptly knocked to the side.

What the hell just happened?

She pulled herself up from the ground, ignoring the painful groans coming from Kai. Her own body was inundated in pain, but she felt nothing except a burning buzz as the adrenaline of narrow survival kept her afloat.

The ambient temperature dropped. Large shards of ice raced through the air and embedded themselves into Flesh Devourer. The assault was relentless. An ice construct in the shape of a fist simultaneously materialized from the ground. It smashed into Flesh Devourer's torso. The monster flopped onto its side, landing into a ruins of a building. Ice then crowded the area to create a makeshift prison. The Thanatos inmate squealed as it tried to right itself and escape. Each time it clipped away at the ice, however, the cage reformed anew.

A stalemate. Anna stared at the hulking abomination trapped beneath the ice. At a glance, she could tell this was a temporary measure. Flesh Devourer would not be kept down like this for long.

The maker of the prison landed beside her.

Sleek black hair, dark as night, fluttered neatly behind her back. A uniform embroidered with the emblem of a rose sewed along her shoulders. Liesel wore a stern and focused expression as she brushed away the rain. The Ice Maiden looked poised and composed as usual. Her demeanor was unwavering, even before the destruction of the Black Shoal.

Anna felt a touch of relief at her presence. But that feeling quickly soured as anger took over.

"What the hell have you been?!" she exploded at her, "This is your family's city, isn't it?! Where are the Belle associates?! Have you just been hiding?!"

Liesel said nothing. Her eyes stayed on Flesh Devourer. Mana occasionally flared from her hands to keep the ice prison intact. Her apparent indifference set Anna off even more.

"Look around you, dammit! Isarelle has been destroyed! How many people are dead?! How many people are going to have their lives uprooted?! Do you even care?!"

"That's enough!"

Anna flinched at the sudden rebuke. It was then did she notice that Liesel's shoulders had been shaking. Her lips were pulsed. The edge of her eyes quivered subtly. The rain masked it well, but Anna realized that she was crying.

The Ice Maiden of Belle wasn't poised at all.

For the first time since they've known each other, she finally witnessed a crack in Liesel's icy façade.

"…Circumstances kept me from acting. But you can condemn me later," Liesel said, her voice a mixture of sorrow and thinly veiled rage, "For now, let's kill this monster."

***

Anna quickly got Liesel up to the speed with the details of their fight. Kai had recovered at this point. He sat hunched over on a piece of rubble, massaging his ribs while holding his head. The backlash of his water construct being forcefully broken remained.

"Both of you, take this."

Liesel handed them a white pill. Anna narrowed her eyes at the suspiciously looking drug.

"It'll help ease the symptoms of Overclock and halt the progression of mana poisoning. But it's only a temporary measure," Liesel explained, "Listen to your body. If it starts protesting again after ingesting the pill, then immediately stop using your Gift. The backlash will be even more severe if you ignore it."

"Any other side effects?"

"It's…addictive. This is the only dosage that I'll administer to you two."

Gosh, how considerate. Both Anna and Kai tossed the pill into their mouths. The effect was instant. Anna watched as the blue hue on her fingertips began to recede. It didn't completely remove the haunting coloration, but it was enough where she felt comfortable that she could activate Volt at least a few more times.

"Anna, you should still hold back. You were very close over the edge of Overclock. Kai, the headaches from the mana backlash should be eased. You might be able to summon the Naiad again."

In the background, Flesh Devourer's thrashing echoed. The monster groaned and squealed with roaring anger as it tried repeatedly to break free of his imprisonment. Liesel didn't betray any discomfort, but Anna could tell. The time between when she had to restore the ice cage was rapidly shrinking. Flesh Devourer was growing stronger. Whether fueled by rage or hunger, the monster was going to break out soon.

"We need a plan to take it down. Obviously, the main problem is its strength and regeneration. Any ideas?"

"Where's the rest of the Belle Exalted?" Anna asked, hoping they'll have more than just three battered Academy students to face this abomination.

Liesel sighed, visibly frustrated. "I send them out to other areas. Flesh Devourer isn't the only Thanatos inmate going on a rampage. There's also Vigil's rats terrorizing the place as well. I only managed to get a small squadron out, so there aren't many of us to begin with."

"Let me guess, some stupid politics are happening while the city is being destroyed."

Liesel said nothing.

Anna clicked her tongue. Damn these nobles. It's always politics with these craven bastards.

"His mana capacity isn't infinite, right?" Kai refocused the discussion, "Can we force him to use up his reserves?"

"You want to fight a battle of attrition against a monster who's been consumed by his Gift?" Anna asked, pointing out the ridiculousness of the suggestion, "Don't even think about it. We'll be dried up long before then. Flesh Devourer isn't affected by Overclock in this state. We are."

"But he still needs a source of mana to draw on, doesn't he?" Liesel said, "The traditional way that the Lionhearts have dealt with those consumed by their Gift is to disconnect them from their Azurite accessory."

Anna snuck a glance at Flesh Devourer. "Do you see a necklace or brooch on that thing?"

"If I had to guess, it's probably been absorbed into its body," Kai offered.

"My mana perception is the strongest out of us here. I will try to look for it. But that would require me to stop reinforcing the ice cage," Liesel said, turning to Kai, "We'll need your Naiad again. But make it smaller. More agile so it can dodge Flesh Devourer's attacks. The smaller size should also lessen the mana backlash if it gets destroyed. Your job is to distract him while I analyze."

"Got it."

"What about me?" Anna pointed at herself.

"For now, focus on recovery. Observe the battlefield. Watch over Kai and I."

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