“Enough with the nonsense,” the brown robed Wanderer said, and not just to the Weina girl in front of him. “This Weina has no intention of fighting against us. She is just trying to buy time until her teammates arrive. I say we attack her right away, and take her down before she can regroup with the other girls.”

  “And what about the Flame behind her?”

  “Do you think we can hurt the ancient being with our attacks?”

  “…No, but it will be disrespectful.”

  “We do not have to time to think about such trivialities. If you have not been paying attention, then let me remind you that the white haired girl is almost here, and that Serpia girl is not far away either. At worst, we will just apologise to that ancient being after we are done with these girls. I am sure he will understand.”

  “…That is quite a few assumptions you are making, Nomar.”

  “Well informed assumptions, Ejak.”

  “On the contrary, I think your assumptions are ill informed. Do not forget that this is an ancient being you are talking about. One from a time long lost. You cannot expect his actions to follow our common sense. Not to mention that even with our common sense, I do not think any being strong enough to dust off our attacks would spare us for inadvertently attacking him. Let us not take any chances, and—

  “That is quite a play your companions are putting up, Rosefield,” Vestia said to the pink robed Wanderer. “But there is no need. Like I said. You won.”

  “Oh? Are you—

  Before the pink robed man could finish his words, Vestia’s figure wavered along with the flow of the fog, and dispersed into its waves, leaving the Flame to defend itself. Not that it needed anyone to protect it. Be it because of his status as the target of their mission, or because of the being possessing him, no Wanderer of the Lotus clan would dare to attack him. But they did not have to be so wary of the Weina girl.

  So, the moment that Vestia vanished from the flame’s side, the group of Wanderers around her launched their attacks at once. And not just at her, but also at Cecilia and Yuri. The brown robed Wanderer was not lying. The two girls had indeed come a little too close to the Flame for their comfort. Cursing their followers for their incompetence, the leaders of the alliance released the manifestation of Mysteries they had been holding back, hoping to regain their advantage. They did not.

  Of their three targets, Vestia simply vanished into the fog, leaving them no choice but to randomly throw their attacks, relying on Ilea’s blessings to hit her. Cecilia, on the other hand, seemed to have incarnated as an Apostle of the Goddess of War. No attacks, be it physical or elemental, could get past her claws. And in the few cases that she missed, or was faced with too many attacks at once, they would all just slip past her, leaving her unscathed as before.

  “…Mysteries of Fortune?” noted the green robed man, when his barrage of Fire Arrows missed her head by a tenth of an inch, just because she happened to turn her head to deal with a sword heading her way. “And she does not look like she has just learned how to use them…”

  “What exactly has those idiots been doing in the past few months?” the blue robed Wanderer said, echoing his green robed companion’s concern. “Why has there been nothing about this in her information?”

  “…At least we can guess what kind of Mysteries she is using,” the red robed Wanderer said, staring solemnly at the white haired girl getting closer to them with every passing moment. “In her case, I do not think any of us can explain how she is making all those attacks bounce off her.”

  “…She is indeed a little trickier to deal with than the Serpia girl,” said the pink robed Wanderer, glancing at Vestia’s figure appearing at five places at once, and all appearing real to his Spirit. “But I still think that the Weina girl is the hardest of them all to deal with.”

  “Then how about you give the Weina girl to me, and you deal with this freak?”

  “…Be careful, or you will not even know how you died,” the pink robed Wanderer said, before rushing with his lighting tigers towards the white haired girl to deal with her head on. Though he would have preferred to deal with her from a distance. If sending a part of lightning tigers would not have been enough, he could have just sent a few more pairs. Maybe even attacks of other elements, or other lineages altogether.

  However, the pink robed Wanderer had a hunch that no attacks from a long distance would work on her. Then again, from what he had seen up till then, no close quarter attacks were working on her either. Everything seemed to just bounce off her. Or maybe ignore her. He could not tell. Not until he fought her head on. Only then, would he be able to find flaws in her means.

  So, despite not being very proficient in the means of Warriors, he still chose to face the girl with a short sword and a shield. The most popular combination of weapons amongst Scholars who were forced to fight their enemies head on. Yet, effective as the shield was in blocking attacks, it could provide no defence against the breath of death in the eyes of the girl. And when she locked on to him…

  The pink robed Wanderer hurriedly took out a Glyph Token from his storage device, and crushed it, summoning a pinkish red barrier around himself, just in time to block a pillar of light descending from the skies, and a sword, glowing in bluish white light, heading for his throat. And both attacks came with such a force, that not even a True Rank Glyph Token would have lasted for long, let alone a False Ranked one.

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  Just moments after the shield had manifested, it shattered into tiny fragments, and dissipated into the fog, leaving the pink robed Wanderer defenceless once again, forcing him to back away from the girl. That was until he recalled what he observed in their brief confrontation a moment ago. Although it was just for a moment, he could swear he saw the lightning from the tigers next to him not being bounced off the girl. And that meant…

  “I have figured out your weakness,” the pink robed man said, letting out a smirk, as he stopped retreating. “Your tricks are not going to work anymore.”

  Yuri did not bother replying to the pink robed Wanderer, and continued walking, ignoring the attacks falling on her—

  “Stop,” the pink robed Wanderer said to the other Wanderers around the white haired girl. “Have you not wasted enough Spirit Power already? Why are you still attacking her when you know that your attacks will not work?”

  “…How else are we supposed to stop her?”

  “Even if you want to stop her, you cannot just keep throwing your attacks on her, and hope that it will work. That is not how Mysteries work.”

  “But you were the one who said that her Spirit Power would eventually run out.”

  “If she is relying on her Spirit Power. Use your head. Can someone who is almost at their limit, use such terrifying means? And if such means were easy to use, why did she not use it before? Why is she not rushing towards her Captain, instead of walking so slowly?”

  “I—

  “It is my fault. I should not have expected much for you buffoons… Just remember to attack her when she is attacking. That is the only time you will get past her defences.”

  “…But what if she does not attack at all?”

  “She will,” the pink robed Wanderer said, as the white haired girl took another step towards him. “After all, that is the only way for her to save her Captain.”

  For the first time since she had begun marching towards the Flame, Yuri paused, even if only for a moment. And that pause was enough for pink robed Wanderer to know that his plan was successful. The white haired girl had taken the bait. Next, he just had to ensure that he would not fall to her attacks before his incompetent companions could take her down… Maybe his plan was not so good after all. But he did not have the time to think about other plans. At the moment—

  Another pillar of light descended from the skies, aiming directly at the pink robed man’s head, just as the sword in the white haired girl’s hand turned into a whip, and wrapped around his shield, before yanking it away, forcing the man to rely on another Glyph Token to save himself.

  In return, Yuri had to face a barrage of Fire Arrows, Wind Blades, Earth Spikes, and even a couple of lightning tigers trying to rip her throat. But she was not afraid. Never was. The only thing she felt at the moment was rage. Pure, unadulterated rage, that even the Clarity of her Heart could not suppress. How, then, could a couple of Lightning Tigers be able to withstand her gaze of Death? How, then, could the Wanderers around her dare to stop her steps?

  “…You…”

  “This is just the beginning, Rosefield,” Yuri said, speaking words for the first time since she saw Alnea being turned into Flames. “Death is never the end. Despair is. Utter despair, the kind of which you have never seen. But do not worry. Soon, you will be one of the few people in the world to truly understand despair. And become one with it…”

  With each step that Yuri took towards him, the pink robed Wanderer took a step back, staring at the white haired girl in front of him with wide eyes. And he was not alone. The other Wanderers around him were just as scared. Anyone would be, if they saw the Mysteries they had summoned wither away with just one look from their enemy. It was as if she was an incarnation of Death.

  Still, at least they had the chance to back away. The Wanderers besieging Cecilia could only stare at her in confusion, as their life faded away from their eyes. Why were their attacks not working on her? Why could she come out unscathed from a storm of flaming Wind Blades? And why were her claws so sharp? Why could she slash through all their shields and defences like she was cutting through mud?

  They did not get any answers. But neither did the Wanderers fighting against Vestia. Which of the figure flashing around them was real? Was she even still around them, or was she just projecting her figures from a distance? No, she was still around them. That part was certain. Nothing else could explain the wounds in their backs and abdomen. But why was it so difficult to find her?

  It was not as if they had not thought of attacking all the figures around them at once. But none of their attacks could touch her. Literally. Be it their Aspects, or their Mysteries, whatever they threw at her would just go through her. It was as if she had truly become one with the fog, ignoring all the attacks they threw at her, and appearing next to her enemies right when they were most vulnerable, stabbing her dagger into their chest or necks. Sometimes, she even shot arrows from a distance, just to mess with their Hearts.

  The only one who seemed to be unaffected by how things were unfolding, was the Whitebud man, the leader of the Lotus clan’s alliance. Though he did not seem to be interested in fulfilling his duties as a leader. Instead, he just kept staring at the Flame with a fanatical grin. And as the scramble between the girls and his companions intensified, he stepped towards the Flame once again. Though he was not very subtle with his movements. Not that he intended to hide himself.

  On the contrary, the Whitebud man let out a hysterical laugh, drawing everyone’s attention to himself. He even slowed down his steps, as if waiting for the girls to launch their attacks. And the girls did not disappoint him, sending both, a pillar of light, and a bluish green arrow, right for his head.

  Yet, the man did not flinch. Neither did he take any defensive measures. It did not matter if the attacks were powerful enough to prove fatal. Nothing could stop his steps. Not even the fear of Death. Only in such a way, could he prove himself. Only in such a way, could he show his belief. And only in such a way, could he touch the Flame.

  “You just need to believe in the Miracle, and leave everything up to its will,” the Whitebud man said, stretching his hands deeper into the Flame. As for the attacks heading his way? He did not have to worry about them. Not till he believed in the Flames. Not till he believed in the Miracle.

  “Only when it sees your sincerity, will it answer your wishes, and give you the miracle you have been waiting for.”

  The man paused, and glanced at the Wanderers around him, some staring at him with wide eyes, others bursting with anticipation and excitement, before focussing on the three girls in the distance.

  “Let me show you the Miracle of Fire!”