The Chronicles of Sorataki: Lucid Wish

Chapter 29: To be a hero

Natalie

I've lost her! Natalie! The guardian shouted.

Natalie barely registered it over her own ringing on her ear and the panting of her breath. For a moment she struggled to recall what she was doing here, who she was fighting. The floors, the ceiling, the pillars themselves? They were all dangerous. All out to get her. Why was she here suffering this? The left side of her eyes was swollen shut from a sucker punch Allisa suddenly gave her. Her body felt so sore from the near scrapes and slashes that came from Allisa as well as the pillars. Allisa seemed to coordinate its attack with the twist of her sword, Natalie's fast healing was coming though but as she grew more tired the speed that it healed her slowed.

Her purple tank top was drenched with blood that oozes out from slashes on her back, her gut, and her sides. One of her lower ribs was bothering her greatly, making standing up straight a choir.

She'd tried to recall what struck her there but between all her other pained parts of her body, the recollections slipped her. All Natalie recalled was that things got even harder after the second time she landed a solid blow on Allisa and called for her to not let Orba win by fooling her. Things had been a blur of being overwhelmed by Allisa and barely avoiding slices that could have ended her had she been a fraction slower. Failing to land a clean hit on Allisa the guardian attempted to reach out for her regardless, it should have worked, Allisa was so close but...

Natalie was so out of it that she'd barely taken note of Allisa's sword tilt. A blanket spiked cam shooting out of the pillar to her side forcing Natalie to jump backward. Frustrated Natalie tried to cover lost ground by kicking into high gear and sprinting after Allisa however before she made it three strides spikes came rushing out from pillars from both her sides. Barely ducking it at full speed on wobbly legs sent Natalie out of balance and toppling to the ground in a pathetic tumble. Worried about being struck by spikes whilst laying down Natalie shot up to her feet. Luckily she was in the dead center of the four nearest pillars that surrounded her. Even though they could extend outwards they were beyond three meters.

Seeing how all pillars around her were pointing spikes towards her, Natalie sighed a breath of relief. That was washed away however when she heard the roaring flames rushing towards her like an angry tidal wave. Leaping over the fire Natalie covered her face from the sheering heat that radiates off her skin in that short moment before landing on the ground with a stumble. Unsummoning her wings almost fainted with the loss of power it brought. Although her healing and overall power were much stronger when she summoned her wings it wore her out quickly. Even though her stamina recovers faster than normal if she overuses her powers she will still fall victim to exhaustion.

With back-to-back battles and barely enough time in between for her fast healing to take the edge off her injuries her stamina however had been waning more so than gaining up to this point.

The guardian was still sobbing as she mumbled Allisa's name. Natalie however was preoccupied at keeping her one good eye on Allisa now. The cracks on her chest plate were grown beyond it to reach over the shoulders and gauntlet arms, bright light seeped through the cracks but the darkened mana which billowed over the rest of her almost snuffed it out.

Thanks to its density it made seeing Allisa's features hard like one hidden by a wall of blackened flames. She was growing stronger with each moment as Natalie was growing weaker.

She could not reach Allisa now behind that overflowing display of power. Not how she was.

You're too weak to reach her now! Natalie's guardian said.

In the midst of blackness that masked Allisa's face and features came the movement of the sword as if to point it at Natalie's chest. Natalie felt the chilling sensation of imminent danger redating off from the pose.