[Kara] Chapter 4: Relentless (Patreon)

The ground shook.

Kara’s fingers trembled. Her breathing slowed, even as her heart hammered in her chest. She shrank back and clung tightly onto Angel, neither of them making a sound, forced to silently watch as a cloud of dust approached them, and the earth beneath their feet began to violently vibrate.

It was a herd of monsters. They looked like moose of sorts, except their skin was gray like rocks, and they were massive, standing at a dozen feet each. Their horns were sharp and jagged at the end, pointing forward like pitchforks. There were about twenty of them in total. Not that many, but more than enough to crush both the human and the bear cub.

That was why the two of them hid in the shadow of the nearby hill, making themselves as small as possible as the herd of giant moose passed. Neither of them moved until they were certain the monsters were gone. And Kara made certain of that fact by staying put until the light tremoring stopped.

Now, while she knew that the moose back on Earth were generally herbivores, the same couldn’t be said about Xantos. After all, while these monsters might have looked similar to a moose, that didn’t mean they followed the same diet. These monsters might have exclusively feasted on humans for all she knew. Or they might not even want to eat her. They could simply be aggressive creatures that decided they didn’t like how she looked if they saw her.

And while Kara was certainly stronger now compared to before, she still remembered the monsters she had seen lurking in the night when she first arrived in Xantos. She had seen earthworms the size of buildings exploding out of the ground, and she had even hid from a massive golem made out of both rock and trees.

Those giant moose might have been weaker than these other monsters she had seen back then, considering it wasn’t night and it wasn’t raining, but she wasn’t going to take any unnecessary risks. Especially when she was up against a herd of monsters that were three times her size with skin that looked like it was made out of stone. She had to pick her battles wisely, and that was how she survived out here in these mountains thus far.

“Come on, Angel,” she said as she stepped out into the valley. Kneeling down, she urged the bear cub out of the shadows. “It’s safe now. There’s no need to be afraid now.”

Her soft words drew out her little furry companion. Well, he wasn’t that little, standing at just over four feet all. But he seemed to trust her, glancing forward just once, in the direction where the monsters went, before he hurried to her side.

He nearly bounded straight into her, and she backed up, giggling at him. “Hey, careful! You’re going to get one of us hurt!”

She steadied herself as she looked down at him, before patting his head. He had grown quite a bit, gaining a few inches since they met, even though it hadn’t been that long since then. It had been nearly a month since Angel started traveling together with Kara. Even after saving his life, the bear cub had still shown some apprehension around the human at first.

But now, they had both grown quite close to each other, sticking together no matter what. He nuzzled up against her hand, and she nodded at him.

“Come on, let’s get going now. We still have quite a ways to go.”

Kara smiled as she spoke, leading the bear cub down the valley. But even as they continued on, there was a harsh truth about their journey that was left unsaid. And it was the fact that they were both aimlessly wandering the mountain range.

They were both completely lost.

Neither of them knew where they were going. And how would they know where to go? Kara was from another world, and Angel was a literal child. Other than heading for the nebulous idea of safety, they had no real destination in mind.

But it seemed like finding a settlement or a city to seek refuge atop these mountains was going to be quite difficult. After all—

“Again…” Kara whispered as she came to a halt before the smoldering ruins of a city. Her hands tightened around the bear cub’s paws, and she gritted her teeth. “Another city, destroyed. Just what is going on?”

Before her lay nothing but the sprawling remains of buildings that had been burnt to ash. Desiccated corpses were scattered across the smoking debris, and the scent of rotting flesh permeated the air. It was a horrible sight. But it was a sight that Kara was getting used to seeing.

This time, the destroyed city had been built into the side of the mountain. But the city before that had lain inside of a large cavern. And the one before that had been hidden beneath the massive overhang of a cliffside. Each city had been unique, coming in different sizes, with some of them encompassing no more than a few dozen houses, while others looked like they were large enough to house thousands of people within.

The only common theme amongst them was that they had all recently been razed to the ground with no survivors left.

Angel whined softly as he hid behind Kara. She held him close, her lips drawing into a thin line as she swept her gaze over the remains of what had once been a city. Looking up, she saw a distant flock of winged figures beginning to gather, and she heard their far-off shrieks.

“It’s dangerous here,” she said as she turned around. “And we need to find shelter soon, before the sun sets.”

But before the pair could even take two steps, they paused when they spotted a silhouette approaching from down the valley. It was hard to make out any significant features of this figure at first, with the swelling sun beginning to dip over the horizon.

Then it drew closer, and Kara could hear the heavy clunking of metallic boots. She saw long hooded robes— completed a simple gray mask that wore no expression. It looked like the grim reaper was coming for her, but instead of a scythe, he carried a black staff with a transparent crystalline tip.

Was it a he? Was he even a person? Or was he some kind of monster, just in the shape of a human?

He could have been a hallucination. Maybe even a magical illusion. Kara didn’t know. She opened her mouth hesitantly as he drew closer.

“Who—“

But she caught herself. Would he even understand her? If he was a monster or an illusion, he wouldn’t be able to speak. And if he could speak, he most definitely didn’t speak English.

Although… didn’t Zarkoth speak English? Either that, or he must’ve used some kind of translation magic, which was very much a possibility.

That was all beside the point for now. The hooded stranger continued striding forward with thumping footsteps, and Kara’s brows snapped together. Angel growled and took a step forward, confirming that at the very least he wasn’t imagined up in her head. So she moved in front of the bear cub and raised her fists.

“Who are you?” she asked less-than-kindly. Her fists clenched into balls, and she reached for the magic within her dragonsoul. “Are you the one who did this?” She glanced back at the destroyed city behind her.

It was a simple question. Whether or not he could understand her didn’t matter. Her nervous body language conveyed enough. The hooded figure came to a halt before her as he slammed his staff to the ground.

“Kara of Earth C65,” he said in a tinny voice.

His faceless gaze bore into her, and she jolted back. Her eyes snapped wide open as she lowered her hands. She tried to work her jaw, processing what he had just said.

“Of Earth… what?” Kara said, utterly befuddled. Then she caught herself and shook her head. “How do you know my name? And how do you even know where I’m from?”

For a tense moment, he didn’t say a single word. Angel blinked, glancing between the hooded figure and the young woman. He looked confused. And so was Kara. She didn’t understand what was going on. But still, she waited for the tinny voice to come again.

And eventually, it did. “The Soulmaster seeks your presence.”

Kara narrowed her eyes. “The… who?”

But once again, the hooded figure refused to answer her question. Instead, he raised his staff and pointed at her as his eyes flashed with a red glow.

“Do not resist,” he said as the tip of the staff crackled with electricity. Kara saw the attack coming, and she grabbed Angel as she rolled out of the way. “Hand yourself over peacefully, or you shall be forcefully detained.”

As Kara moved, a beam of red light shot out from the staff. It swung out at her, cutting the ground open. She felt its intense heat brushing against her skin, even as she dodged the attack in time. It struck a pile of rubble and debris behind her, before erupting into a powerful blast that nearly knocked her off her feet.

“You’re already fucking attacking me, you asshole!” she screamed as she raised her head, already panting.

Angel looked up as well, staring back at the blast in horror. The hooded figure was dangerous. Very much so. That explosion was powerful enough to destroy a large house. And his faceless gray mask reflected the fiery orange of the flames as he started walking forward once again.

“Hand yourself over peacefully—” he started.

And Kara gritted her teeth. “I was going to hand myself over, but now all you’re going to be getting is cooked!”

Her body was engulfed by a coat of golden flames as Angel backed up. She pointed at the hooded figure, creating a ball of fire, even as he moved faster and faster. He began to break out into a sprint as she unleashed a cone of her strongest flames his way.

But he ran straight through the fire, completely unphased. She watched with round eyes as he got closer, tearing through the golden flames, then reached her. He swung his staff at her, and she ducked under the attack. I’m faster than him, she realized quickly enough.

Kara landed a quick jab and uppercut, before wincing as she heard the clanking metal resound with each strike. Backing up, she narrowly avoided his swinging staff once again, then struck him with a kick. He didn’t even budge.

But I can’t hurt him, the second realization settled in. Her jaw clenched at that, but she steeled herself. No, there has to be something I can do.

And the hooded figure reached to grab her by the face. Kara leapt out of the way as he barely grabbed a fistful of hair. She flipped through the air as she gathered the blazing mana in her dragonsoul, before the golden flames coating her body were concentrated into her right hand.

She took in a deep breath as he craned his neck to face her. And with a shout, she clawed her hands out in the hooded figure’s direction.

“God Strike!”

The attack shot out as she landed a dozen feet away, and the three slashes struck their target, even digging into the earth behind him. There was a sudden jolt on the ground beneath Kara’s feet upon impact as smoke and ash was kicked up into the air from her God Strike.

Kara caught her breath as the dust settled. She looked up hopefully at the hooded figure, seeing the way he was arched backwards. His dark cloak was partially shredded at his chest, revealing a suit of heavy metal underneath. Like plate armor. But he otherwise stood there, completely unscathed.

“You can’t be serious, right…?” she asked as she realized her strongest attack did absolutely nothing.

The hooded figure eyed her golden locks in his hand, then looked back to face her. She stood there, still in a daze as his gaze bore into her, until she heard a growling coming from the side. Angel scrambled over to join her, and she quickly called out to him to stop.

“Don’t!” she shouted as the bear cub paused. “It’s me he's after— you’ll get hurt if you come close.”

Hesitating, Angel stared at her for a moment, and the hooded figure moved. The bear cub watched as the staff was lifted off the ground, then nodded understandingly. He backed away slowly as the hooded figure’s eyes flashed once again.

The staff crackled with electricity.

“Angel, I want you to run when I—” Kara said.

And a crimson beam shot out at her once again. She cursed as she dove out of the way. The blast struck the small mountain right behind her, sending a tremor washing over it.

She scrambled back to her feet as she looked up towards the staring bear cub, then shouted, “Go! I’ll catch up to you!”

Angel closed his eyes, before nodding. He began scurrying away as Kara looked back towards the hooded figure. She began to conjure up a ball of flames as the hooded figure ran towards her once again.

She hurled the fireball his way, and it engulfed him in a fiery explosion. But that didn’t stop him. He barreled his way towards her as she backed away towards the base of the hill. When he reached her, she didn’t even bother trying to land a punch. All she did was roll away as he tried to catch her.

Kara ran around the hooded figure at the base of the small mountain, avoiding his swings and his grabs as she brought her hands together, creating an even larger fireball than before. But she didn’t throw it his way. She waited patiently until—

His eyes flashed, and his staff crackled.

Now! she thought as she leapt into the air, flipping over him, even as she continued to pour her magic into the flaming sphere she held close to her chest.

He raised his staff and aimed for her as she soared directly over his head. The same crimson beams he fired earlier shot out again, missing her as she landed, before striking the top of the small mountain.

The ground began to rumble as the blast resounded. But even as the explosion dissipated, the tremor didn’t vanish. Kara grinned, and the hooded paused, realizing what she was doing. But it was too late. She spun around and hurled her own fireball up the small mountain, engulfing its top with another explosion.

The hooded figure charged at her, reaching out with an arm. But she ducked under him, deftly avoiding him once again as a section of the small mountain began to collapse. Large chunks of rocks and boulders poured down at him as he raised his head, while Kara made a break for it down the valley.

A boulder nearly rolled onto him, and he swung up with his staff, smashing it into pieces. But a rocky landslide continued to fall onto the hooded figure as Kara ran away from the scene as fast as she could. Glancing back once, she watched as he fought to keep the tumbling rocks from crushing him, swinging his staff and unleashing the crimson beam into the air.

“Good luck dealing with that!” she laughed, waving back at him.

And with that, she continued on in the direction Angel had gone.

—--

It didn’t take long for Kara to find Angel. He had waited for her, just down the valley, trusting her even though he couldn’t understand her words. She scooped him up as soon as she found him, and she continued running until the sun set over the horizon.

When it was dark, they found a small cave to shelter in to hide from the monsters that emerged during the night.

“We should be safe here,” Kara said as she collapsed next to the bear cub. He pressed his face up to her, looking worried. Smiling, she scratched the side of his furry cheeks softly. “Don’t worry, neither that man nor any monster can get us here.”

Angel stared at her apprehensively. While he could sense the comfort in her words, he didn’t feel reassured in the slightest. She thought the chase was over. But she didn't know just how relentless humans could be.

He had experienced it himself. And while he wasn’t sure if that thing chasing them was a human or not, it reminded him of a human. So he refused to let his guard down.

Kara wasn’t hurt from the fight, but she was tired. So she dozed off soon after they settled into the cavern. And while Angel wanted to sleep too, he decided to stay awake. He had done as much before, which was how he knew he could live even with losing a single night’s rest.

After all, there was not much else Angel could do for Kara. He wanted to help her even more, but he hadn’t even achieved his Awakening. His monstersoul was still dormant, and it would continue to remain dormant for a while.

His mama and papa had told him that they had only ever achieved their Awakening after they had been alive for a thousand moons. Meanwhile, Angel was currently only about half their age back then. While they had told him that age wasn’t really a factor, he didn’t know how else he was going to suddenly unlock his magic.

So this was all he could for now. That was why he remained alert as the night went on. The twin moons made their way across the night sky, and large swathes of clouds began to gather overhead. The ground occasionally shook as giant beasts passed, while the distant roars of terrible monsters resounded from time to time.

Angel was used to all this, having grown up here in this deadly terrain. But what he wasn’t used to was hearing clunking of heavy metal boots. It was approaching sunrise soon when he heard this, His ears perked up as he first thought he was imagining it.

However, the thumping drew closer, and he hurriedly moved to wake up his human companion. He shook her and whined as she blearily blinked her eyes open.

“What is it, Angel?” Kara asked groggily, before letting out a yawn.

He ground his teeth together and pointed at the exit of the cave. She frowned, still not understanding what was going on for another moment. And Angel turned around as a looming shadow reached the cavern.

The hooded figure had arrived.

Kara’s eyes snapped wide open, staring up in disbelief. “How did he find us so quickly…?”

He aimed his staff down at her as his eyes flashed red. There were no words exchanged. Both Kara and Angel knew what came next. There was a crackle of electricity, and the two of them moved.

They both ran forward, barely dodging the crimson beam as it struck the inside of the cavern. The ceiling collapsed as a powerful explosion rocked the room. A shockwave sent the bear cub flying out of the cave entrance as Kara staggered forward.

The hooded figure reached for her as she was momentarily knocked off balance. But she caught herself and slid under him, knocking him off his feet. Golden flames began to pour into her hand as she spun around and faced her falling assailant.

“God Strike!” she whispered.

And her attack struck the hooded figure as he was still off his feet. The sheer force of the magical slashes sent him crashing back into the collapsing cavern.

Kara skidded to a halt next to Angel who already knew what to do.

“Angel—” She reached for him, and he leapt into her arms.

She blinked a few times, not expecting him to be so prepared or move so quickly. He grinned back up at her, then she nodded. And the two of them fled from the scene as the sun began to rise over the horizon.

—---

It was noon by the time the two of them had stopped running. They wanted to continue, but they needed to rest to catch their breaths. Kara heaved as she leant against the side of a mountain.

“I don’t understand— how does that asshole keep finding us?” she asked no one in particular.

There were a multitude of other questions racing through her mind— like who the fuck was the Soulmaster? How did he know she was not from this world? And how did he even know her name? But none of these questions were relevant to her current predicament.

The young woman from Earth sighed as she looked down at her feet. They were covered in dirt and scratches. Running over rocky terrain barefoot was painful, even when empowered by magic.

Certainly, Kara did have some kind of superhuman healing ability thanks to her dragonsoul. But it was not anywhere close to any kind of instant regeneration. Small cuts and bruises would take under a day to go away, while deeper gashes would take only a few days. Still, it was both annoying and uncomfortable. And by the looks of it, Kara was going to have to continue running for a while.

She pursed her lips as she raised her head. The sky was overcast and gray— a magical storm was forming soon, so she knew she needed to find shelter. But she couldn’t do that. Not when she knew she was being pursued by that hooded figure.

“And that means I’ll have to run from both that asshole and a bunch of monsters…” Kara muttered under her breath.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she pondered over what to do. But then she felt something soft press up against her legs. Looking down, she saw Angel placing a paw on her hand. He wore a look of determination on his face. And that made her smile back at him.

“You did a good job waking me up this morning,” she said as she picked the bear cub up. “I’d be dead without your help, so thank you.”

Kara pulled him in for a hug, but he winced. He recoiled slightly as she paused and furrowed her brows. She inspected him only to see burn marks and scratches marking his back.

“You’re hurt… but how?” Kara stared at him, eyes growing wide. “Was it from the explosion?”

Angel nodded meekly as she set him back down onto the ground. He curled up into a ball by her legs, and she chewed her lips, not knowing what to do.

“We can’t keep running,” she whispered to herself. “We’re going to get ourselves killed if we continue to run.”

But what other options did they have? They couldn’t fight. The hooded figure was too strong. Any of his attacks would either kill or badly injure Kara if they landed. And that was not to mention how seemingly invincible his metallic armor was.

Even her God Strike failed to pierce the metal. It could cut through rock— it could scar walls made out of stone. But somehow, that metallic armor was nigh unbreakable.

“What can I even do against that?” Kara asked herself as she looked back up at the eddying clouds.

Her only advantage over the hooded figure was her speed. But even then, all he had to do was catch her once, and it was over. There was nothing she could do to fight back—

And her thoughts were interrupted by the distant flash of lighting, followed by a rolling thunder. Kara jerked back, then paused as she felt the patter of raindrops begin to fall from the sky. She swept her gaze over her surroundings as a drizzle overcame this narrow valley.

She saw movement starting to fill the terrain. Tiny little critters began to burrow themselves underground in hiding, while larger creatures emerged from their caves. A plan began to form in Kara’s mind as she realized that while there was nothing she herself could do to hurt the hooded figure...

“I don’t need to be the one to fight him, do I?”

—-

The light drizzle started to turn into the full force of a magical storm by the time the hooded figure found Kara. She waited at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the valley below, where he made his approach. He walked at his usual glacial pace. His heavy metal armor made his movements sluggish, each step looking like it took a great deal of effort.

Angel wasn’t here. He had wanted to fight by Kara’s side, but she forced him to hide in a nearby cavern until this battle was over. And it was not going to last very long.

The young woman from Earth firmly planted her feet into the ground as the strong colorful winds assailed her from behind. Each gust wisped with magic, brimming with mana. Some of them would have left a trail of frost on her skin, while others would have burned her clothes. But none of them did anything to her.

Because she hadn’t been waiting idly by. Her body blazed with her golden flames as they protected her from the magical storm. Thanks to her first day in Xantos, she knew that she could withstand the violent nature of these multi-colored winds with her magic.

She looked down at the hooded figure as she placed her hands on her hips. “So you made it. And here I thought you got lost in the storm.”

He raised his head, eyeing her with his lifeless mask. A streak of magical lightning crashed a hundred feet away from her, briefly painting the world white.

And the hooded figure raised his staff.

“Kara of Earth C65,” he said as his voice echoed with the billowing wind. “Do not resist. Hand yourself over peacefully, or you shall be forcefully detained.”

“You really aren’t going to say anything else, huh?” Kara sighed, lowering her head. “You’re like a damn machine. But whatever, I’m not going with you, and if you really want me, then come and get me.”

She spread her arms wide as the flames covering her body almost seemed to blast out. They quadrupled in size around her, burning from gold to red at the edges. She looked like a peacock who was unfurling his feathers. The gradient in the flames shined brightly, even amidst the raging storm.

Kara wondered what crossed through the hooded figure’s mind when he saw this. Did he think this was a show of force? Some kind of special attack? Whatever he thought, he didn’t vocalize, as he began to walk forward.

And even if he made a guess, he would have likely been wrong. After all, this wasn’t even something she was directing at him.

It was a lure.

The hooded figure took another forward, then paused as the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. He turned to the side as the shaking became a rumbling. And then he saw the cloud of dust being kicked up into the air.

A smirk slipped onto the young woman’s face as she knew what was coming. In the distance, a herd of giant moose stampeded their way down the valley, heading straight for the hooded figure. He turned to face them as he raised his staff, but the foremost giant moose heaved, and its horns shone with a green light.

A small tornado suddenly appeared right next to the hooded figure as he took a step back. The rest of the giant moose followed suit, conjuring their own tornadoes of varying sizes around him. He steadied himself as he was threatened to be thrown into the air, only for the first giant moose to crash into his side, sending him flying into the cliff wall.

Kara nodded to herself when she saw this. She had always wondered why monsters were drawn out during magical storms. Especially when most of them seemed to be nocturnal, only coming out at night. She had then formed a hypothesis, and now, she was testing it out.

That monsters were drawn by an abundance of mana.

That was why she poured her flames out around her, letting her mana permeate the world around her. And her dragonsoul had plenty of mana to give. Even amidst the mana storm around her, she stood there like a shining beacon of magic.

And fortunately for her, she proved to be right.

The hooded figure pulled himself out from the cliffside, only to be rammed by another giant moose. He was flung to the air as the herd circled around him, huffing and sending gusts of wind at him. When he fell back to the ground, one of the giant moose tried to charge at him before he landed, but he caught it by the horns, before flinging it to the side. Another one charged at him from behind, but he spun around and wung down with his staff, crushing its head against the rock ground, leaving a small crater behind.

These giant moose weren’t strong enough to defeat him on their own. That much was clear. But they weren’t all that appeared, drawn by Kara’s outpouring mana.

She watched as a pair of massive salamanders began to crawl out of the ground, their tails burning with an orange flame. They snarled and snapped their jaws at the hooded figure as he tried to kick them back. But they unleashed a cone of flames his way as he was sent flying into the air by a flanking giant moose.

A loud shriek— like the cry of a monstrous falcon— came from the skies, and Kara raised her head. She saw a winged figure the size of a bus come swooping down at her, but she flipped in the air over it. It was a bird made out of ice.

And it barely missed the young woman. She landed back on the ground, continuing to expel her mana into the world as the ice bird swept low. It struck the hooded figure as he was still carried in the air, sending him crashing into the ground.

He picked himself up as he mechanically looked over his surroundings. And Kara was certain she could finally see some fear in his gaze. There was a small dent on his metal armor, and he was being swarmed by a dozen giant moose, two flaming salamanders, and an ice bird.

It was too much for him to handle. Or at least, that was what Kara thought as her golden flames began to flicker, exhaustion settling in.

“There’s no way he can take them all on,” she panted.

But the hooded figure… refused to flee. His eyes flashed with a red glow, and Kara knew what came next. She backed away from the edge of the cliff as he looked towards the charging herd of giant moose. He pointed at them, and his staff cracked.

Then all at once, a crimson beam shot out, slicing through half their numbers. A powerful explosion resounded a moment later, and six of the giant moose collapsed, cut cleaning from their bottom halves.

Kara’s eyes went wide at the destruction she saw.

The flaming salamanders blasted him with their fire from the side, but he ignored it as he slammed his staff down and killed another giant moose. The ice bird shrieked and swooped back around at him, this time opening its beak.

A cone of frost shot down his way, and he actually recoiled. He raised his staff in the air like he was blocking the attack as his metal armor was coated in ice. The flaming salamanders surrounded him, blasting him with fire from his back, and he broke himself free from the ice in a single motion.

He swung up with his staff, sending the first flaming salamander flying back. And he grabbed the second, lifting it into the air, before hurling it into a pair of giant moose. The ice bird came dove down for him again, unleashing its frost attack.

But his eyes flashed, and he blasted up with the crimson beam, tearing straight through the cone of frost. He swiped up with his attack, aiming for the ice bird. However, he narrowly missed as it swerved out of the way.

The first flaming salamander leapt at him from behind, thinking his back was open. But he spun around and caught it, before crushing its skull.

Kara looked on in awe of the hooded figure’s overwhelming power. The flames she continued to expel flickered even more, and she felt her dragonsoul rapidly draining. She was going to run out of mana soon, and the monsters that came to save her were being utterly destroyed.

Perhaps she could have hoped for even more powerful monsters to be drawn by her blazing fire before she collapsed out of exhaustion. But that was when she felt the prickling sensation wash over her body.

Her hair began to stand on end as she looked down at herself, and she heard a low buzzing. She closed her eyes as her head spun, then she exhaled slowly.

The outpouring flames faded away, immediately snuffing out as she dropped to one knee. She panted tiredly as the hooded figure caught the ice bird and ripped off its right wing. The second flaming salamander fled back into the ground, while the rest of the giant moose were already running into the distance.

The ice bird desperately pecked at the hooded figure’s head, denting his armor even more. But he aimed his staff right at its head, before blasting it with the crimson beam. An explosion engulfed the both of them, and chunks of broken ice flew past Kara’s head.

And she watched as only the hooded figure emerged from the blast. There were even more chinks in his armor, and most of his cloak was gone. He looked hurt, walking forward with a slight limp. But otherwise, he was still alive.

Kara’s lips trembled, barely able to form into a smirk as he leapt high into the air and landed right before her at the edge of the cliff.

“Y-you’re quite the tank, aren’t you?” she mustered out, trying to force herself to her feet.

“Kara… of Earth C65,” the hooded figure repeated himself once again. But his voice came out slower. Like he could barely speak.

She looked down at the scattered corpses down in the valley, before looking back up at him. The magical storm continued to rage around them, and she shook her head as the prickling feeling became stronger.

“I’m surprised I was right about the attraction monsters have to mana. It was honestly just a random hypothesis I had, you know?”

“The Soulmaster—” There was a long pause. Was he hurt? But no— he continued a moment later. “Seeks your presence.”

“But I wasn’t going to hinge my survival on a hypothesis,” Kara said, ignoring his words.

“Do n-n-not… resist.”

She stood tall as she met the lifeless gaze of his mask one last time. “I’m going to bet on what I know is true.”

The buzzing in her ears grew louder, and her golden locks began to rise even higher.

“H-hand yourself over… p-peacefully.” The hooded figure was stuttering even more now. But he didn’t seem to sense anything was amiss

He didn’t sense the static discharge coursing through the air.

“An undeniable fact that I know back from my world,” Kara continued as she took in a deep breath.

“Or you shall be forcefully—”

She finished, “That metal is a pretty good conductor of electricity.”

And the young woman from Earth threw herself into the ground as the sky flashed with a purple light. A blast of lightning shot down from the darkling clouds. But it was not any ordinary bolt of lightning. It was the lightning of a magical storm. The most powerful show of pure power she had seen thus far in Xantos.

And at first, it looked like it was heading straight for her. But then, it suddenly changed targets.

The hooded figure raised his head. His metallic armor was fully exposed now. And all he could do was stare at the oncoming lightning blast as it arced towards him at the very last second.

Kara closed her eyes as she heard the booming of thunder resound, before she heard nothing else a moment later. The blast blinded and deafened her as she lay prone on the ground, covering her ears.

A full minute had to have passed before Kara could even begin to regain her bearings. Her eyes fluttered open, and the howling of wind returned to fill her ears. She breathed quickly, trying to steel herself, before she felt an outpouring of mana pour into her.

And that was when she knew the outcome of this battle.

Without even raising a single finger, Kara had won.

She lay there, calming herself as the mana continued to circle her dragonsoul. Until the blazing fire in her chest was completely covered by a pool of mana. And even then, a trickle of even more mana came from her dead assailant, but was rejected by her body.

Her breathing slowed as she tried to process what was happening. That her pool of mana was now full, and it felt like she was bloated. But before she could fully comprehend the implications of this, she heard the hooded figure’s tinny voice.

That made her jolt to her feet. She spun around as she raised her arms in alarm, before she paused at what she saw. A smoldering crater lay before her. And lying beneath was—

Broken chunks of metal. Loose strands of wires and cables. A crackling of electricity.

“You can’t be serious… right?” she asked as her mind went numb.

She looked down at the mask that was cracked open. But underneath it was not a face of any creature she could recognize. In fact, it was not a face at all. It was nothing but an assortment of assembled parts, with a speaker where the mouth should be.

“He really was a machine,” Kara said, letting the realization settle in.

And the lights in his eyes faded away as he finished, “D-d-d-d-d-d-de— tained.”

Author's Notes:

6.4k words. What thonk?

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