R. A. T. H

Forty-Four

It was nothing to say anger filled her voice. The group before her stared as if they had seen a demon, shock encapsulating their faces in one odd form or another. Rose did not much bother about that.

"Did you not hear me?" She stated as she took a step forward.

The floor beneath her melted, and her sword now radiated such a wild heat; blaring and shrinking, busting and mellowing. The haziness of the red flames formed and deformed, twisted and reshaped around the blade. As the smoke rose from her weapon, burning the mana in the air, she was not wholly sure she could control it—but she didn't care. Staring at the collapsed figure of Elsa, surrounded by the team with a bloody hole in her left leg, and a hand clutching her bleeding face, wrath filled her mind.

She would make them pay for hurting her friend.

"Lilias, you didn't finish the job? Were you too weak?" Reed asked the dragonian at that point, moving his sword in a new direction and staring—admittedly a bit shaken—at the burning weapon.

Lilias frowned, gripping her weapons towards Rose. "How was I to know she had an illegal function?"

"Damn whichever fucker made her. What kind of Gear is that shit anyway?" Nicholas spoke as his weapon trailed for her.

Fieth turned his bow and shrugged, a line of three arrows appeared on its blue string with a tug of three fingers, and he couldn't help but back away from the flames. "I think she's coming now. . ."

Seeing them not in the least bit to move, Rose lost her patience and charged forward. With mana rolling within her figure, her speed excelled at twice that of an average human and she closed in readily, cutting through half the distance in no time.

Three arrows came with a twip and she slashed her sword out. A wild blaze of fire busted forwards, ripping the air and devouring the attacks until fragments of shattered mana scattered.

Nicholas quickly scurried back as she closed in and fired in wild shots. Rose blinked, emerald eyes darting around, she stopped, and slashed.

A crack tore through a pulse.

She slashed and slashed, ripping apart the rest of the assault as her flames burned the attacks away.

"She's burning through my arrows. . ."

"Fuck, my pulses too."

They were speechless. Burning through mana shields was alright, those things were made purposefully thin, but his arrows were supposed to be as concrete and condensed as a mana pulse—and it was a fucking mana pulse!

"Charge your bow, Nick, get on the turret, I'll hold her down with Lilias," Reed replied and jumped to meet her head-on at that point.

At that point, they all ignored whatever commotion was occurring at the ends of the streets and realization struck that the hunters had become the hunted.

Two swords clashed and Reed winced as a flame burned his hand. He crossed eyes with the girl.

"Is there anyway you could leave us be?" He smiled.

Rose did not answer. There was only rage in her mind. She stepped back, dodging a kick and countering with a strike down.

A crimson blade blocked her assault as the dragonian appeared at her side. Reed took the chance to leap forward, two swords intercepted her and Rose merely willed <Igris>.

An explosion of flames flew and a scream followed it.

Reed landed upon the floor, crimson fire crawling upon him as he bawled. The usual composed male was nowhere to be seen when Rose walked closer, watching his torso burning while he wailed and rolled upon the ground.