The Virtues' Magecraft

Page 36: Severance

Giovanna took in a sharp breath and winced as soon as Alonso screamed at the impact of Anastasia's war hammer. In just the second that she caught up to him, her hammer shifted from its ordinary size to a tool of destruction. And in that same second, she slammed it against his knee as he ran.

And now, he gripped his shattered kneecap and wailed on the ground. And Anastasia only spat out a sigh.

"Alonso" or whatever his name is... was the most dangerous. That's what Anastaisa judged, at least. And the only reason they were able to catch up with him was that he was already in pain. The mental anguish that came and stayed within him when Gabriel sliced off his hand was enough to slow him down.

"You should've let me had the first hit," Gabriel said, letting out a sigh as he stared at the crying Alonso.

"You have a sword," Anastaisa told him. "Knowing you, you would've killed him by accident."

He scoffed at that, sheathing his silver blade and crouching down to Alonso. "So..." Gabriel said. "Where and how many are you?"

Alonso couldn't respond. He simply continued to cry out into the night.

Again, Gabriel spat out a sigh. "Are you with the Golden Dawn?"

Still, no response.

"Numbers and positions. Now."

Finally, Alonso stared at Gabriel. "Go to hell. All of you," he muttered amidst his panting and crying. "My brothers will never surrender. Even if you capture me, they'll find me. You... and your friends will be slaughtered. And we... We will be free. We'll get the God Crystal. And we'll-"

Gabriel stood up in silence. "Well, this guy's useless," he said, raising his leg. And as he locked eyes with Alonso, he pressed his foot against his shattered knee. His icy azure eyes were glistening as he glared at Alonso.

Alonso was already screaming.

"Numbers and positions. Now."

Anastasia turned away. Sure, she was the one who dealt the real damage, but she still didn't want to watch a man cry like that. Still, this was one of the few ways to extract actual information from someone. She spat out a sigh as she accepted that.

"Did you really have to shatter his kneecap?" Giovanna asked, finally walking up to Anastasia after staring in silence for a handful of seconds.

"It's always best to immobilize enemies that are faster than you," she told her. "This was just the best way to do it, I guess."

Gabriel finally turned to them and lifted his foot from Alonso's leg. "...Giovanna, what are you doing here?"

"Liam told me to follow you guys. He said he would handle the other one."

He stared at her. "I told you to stay with Alexander."

"Alexander said that I should go after you. These guys were dangerous and all, so-"

"Alexander was practically dying," Anastasia told her. "And we don't know how many there are of these guys. If there's just one more of these people, he could be killed."