Fairy Tail: The Adventures Of Rin Fernandes

XXXVIII. The Darkness Which Lurks Within The Light

XXXVIII. The Darkness Which Lurks Within The Light

RIN'S POV

"Sierra!" Daisy's scream echoed around the clearing as I adjusted my eyes from the bright flash of light that had enveloped us. For some strange reason, the smell of blood was stronger than before. It was like death itself was hanging in the air.

A part of me didn't want to acknowledge Sierra Henrietta's death. She wasn't evil, even if her intentions then hadn't been the greatest.

I couldn't even smile when I noticed the arrival of my comrades. Somehow, they had managed to find their way here as well. Be it a message from Sierra or them figuring it out themselves, it didn't matter. They were here now. And the bond we shared was enough to strengthen my resolve to push forwards. No more games, no more grizzly deaths. We had to end this right here, right now. I doubt Heather would want to let us go like that anyways. We were on Venturia Anguis territory. Her land.

"Release! Trick of the Light!"

My head swung around aimlessly as I tried to pick up the general direction in which Heather's voice had originated from, but it seemed to be echoing around, throwing my sense of hearing out of balance. Locating Heather became the least of my worries when my eyes widened at the sight of the swarm. Masked, and wielding deadly sharp weapons that were either curved or jagged, similar to the betraying soldiers back when we had fought at the Ventury building. Fairy Tail wasn't a guild of cutthroats, which was why Heather still had a good number on her.

Maybe...maybe we should have killed them to bring down their numbers. However, that thought vanished as quickly as it had came. No, I wasn't going to think like that. I'm not Heather. Human lives aren't meant to be carelessly toyed with or taken away. Even Heather's life had a value and a purpose, though not exactly the heroic or admirable kind.

The greater the distance between me and my guildmates, the more unsettling it felt. Heather could be anywhere in this mass. She or Dante could be the masked figure in front, behind, or far away getting at my other guildmates. A tug at the bottom of my dress gave me yet another reminder: this was no regular job.

In a regular job, we could run rampant, we could defend ourselves and not be caught in the crossfires of each other's magic. Even so, most of us would make up by the next day, latest. Right now, there was no Heather, no Dante in sight. If they held the weapon in which had killed all of the Ventury save Alice, any one of us could be next. I couldn't keep an eye out for my guildmates as they seemingly drifted further and further away from me. The matter at hand was that I had to be on the defensive. Alice had seen too much, too much for her to comprehend nor to do anything. She was vulnerable, young and scared. Anyone in her shoes wouldn't have felt otherwise.

I hated how the swarm tried to get to her, like she was a prize. A prize that was too traumatised as the past events really sunk in, her fear consuming her to the point that all she could do was tremble as she gripped my dress, afraid that I might leave her. Considering that I was the only one defending her right now, I was all she had left. The only thing standing between her and Heather.

And we both knew if I fell, even Happy could predict what was likely to occur next. As long as I could defend Alice, Heather would have to go through me before she could get to Alice.

But unlike the shield I thought myself to be, I was simply a suit of armour. Well-guarded, but with chinks and many points of vulnerability.

* * *

I would say that Heather came in like a wrecking ball of destruction, but things didn't go that way. I was fighting, launching attack after attack, until I heard a loud ripping sound as the cool air hit my right waist. I would have definitely lost my modesty had I not worn a pair of short black tights that served as safety shorts.