R. A. T. H

Fifty-Seven

"Run."

Their fight began amidst a sea of pulses and men, and Elsa listened to Rose's word.

Mana rolled through Rose's body as the two came upon one another.

A sword blazing in flames clashed against two crimson blades and exploded upon impact.

Elsa leapt from the flames, dodging a sword her way, and a fist slamming against the head of a soldier—disorienting him. She sidestepped, nailed one with a right hook of her leg, looked back once, then fired the pulse pistol as she moved. It was a chaotic situation, but she eyed her mecha amidst the battlefield.

'Left, right, slash, back, slash.'

Rose moved, remembering her lessons with Samuel as she executed one of his moves perfectly. Her weapon blurred along with her mana enhanced body, and she assaulted her foe with a burning sword that spewed flames with every motion. Her strikes were clean, her movements were practiced, and her eyes took in the data of her opponent's actions.

Yet, even when she broke through the swordsmanship of the girl before her, her strikes left little more than dents or gashes upon the girl's armor before it returned to shape. Even her flames merely burned a sliver off and died out.

'What is that thing. . .?' She grumbled within her mind as her feet shifted, moving back with her head dodging twin blades.

They momentarily separated as neither found advantage over the other.

'An homunculus with a gear really is frightening,' Lilias thought, her armor of mana reforming above her body as she slashed out with her right sword, 'He told me not to engage her, but, how can I not when someone that can match me stands so readily there?'

The spiral of blades came and Rose found herself surrounded in a spinning cyclone narrowing upon her. Still, she wielded <Igris> and slashed.

Her flames burst out, extending forward, and exploding upon the attack.

The segmented blades of the girl spiraled and Rose used this chance to pierce her blade forward.

Fire surged and shot through the short distance they stood.

Every man in her way lunged to escape the attack and it reached its target, devouring the girl in flames.

The dragonian smirked, taking the brunt of the attack as she walked forward.

"What. . .?"

Rose watched as the flames merely burned atop the girl's armor. Mana shed, but the thing reformed, over and over until the flames died out by virtue of burning off the layer they blazed upon.

Her flames were, essentially, useless.

"My spirit uses the mana in the world to reform armor around me, over and over," Lilias said, reaching her front and slashed, "Fighting against my defense is merely fooling yourself."

Her legs moved but the speed of the weapon exceeded her expectations. As if the girl had merely been playing previously, the spiral encircled her and her body ripped as blades dug into her skin, slicing with their rotating movement aided by the blue of mana between their shards.

Rose staggered.

Lilias lips placed itself by the side of her ears, "A shame fighting against me in sword skill fools yourself as well."

A crunch rang as a sword impaled forward, the tip of the sword spinning with a drill of flames and piercing through an armor of ghostly blue.

Rose merely whispered one word.