The Demon Sword: Sorataki

Chapter 37: Debt

Natalie's facial expression froze into one of genuine surprise, here was this woman who she had known to be rather cool-headed shouting at her in earnest. Though it was understandable given the circumstance it still struck a chord with her.

It also made her wonder for the first time if she was in the right frame of mind to be calling together such a game plan. Despite all this, however, she agrees to stay on track with what was pitched.

"Now get going!" Sophie called out pulling her out of her trance.

Seeing the Nova jetting ever closer she grits down the words that she wanted to say a and instead uses that pent up energy to put a spring in her leap to the top of the energy wall over the town. She shall add this emotion to the pile; use it as fuel to further enhance its potency.

Sophie seeing her assent to the top turned around to watch the fast approaching Nova. As she walks to its line of sight she stood there, as if daring it to run her though.

Her goal; grab its attention, and with using as little of her reserved energy as possible dispatch of it in a timely fashion.

As the Nova looms closer she repeated her two main objectives in hear head over and over.

Grab its attention; dispatch it quickly as possible...

However as the plan was drilled deeper into her skull she failed to notice how the Nova suddenly picked up, even more, speed before jetted on upwards towards Natalie, as it fired a stream of rockets at the unaware dark angel, Sophie then realised the giant flaw that she had made.

Natalie turning around to see that Sophie had failed to cover her only cemented her earlier point as she readied herself for a fight with the Nova. However, as she was about to begin to avoid the rocket fire a giant see through wall plodded its way between her and it causing the rockets to explode a fair distance from herself.

As the wall then transformed into an array of homing beams of light it flew and tore through the Nova's defence damaged it to the extent of staggering it from the sky and making it land on the ground from vertigo. As it fell Sophie touched it with both her palm and the tip of her staff thus starting her ability -absorb- and placing -trade- upon it at the same time.

Natalie looks down at Sophie in slight surprise, her hair now looking unaffected by the gravity it floated around her as a soft glowing hue of energy glowed off of her body. Using one of her resist walls as a platform she stood below Natalie with her back turned to face her target. Seeing her resolve allowed Natalie to drop her guard to the new threat.

But something about her sudden use of such skills threw Natalie off.

I thought she said that she could not use trade, she thought to herself.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier," Sophie said softly, she looks at her hand in a calm conflict. "These reserves I'm using now are meant for Flynn. Essential to his abilities as a knight and survival. Right now he and Andrew are separated, he's surrounded by himself, trapped in enemy territory.

If I end up depleting what little strength I have left before he's escaped he will die. And guess what he told me after I explained all this to him?

'go ahead'

So you see I'm not mad at you, it's just right as of now I'm about fed up with running into all these obstacles. And now seeing this 'Nova' show up now of all times has put me in a mood."

She glances back to Natalie to see that she held no blameworthy face instead just casting her face downward in sympathy. Of course, she knew how she felt, for she has been chasing these people for years. A constant urge to put an end to the things they started only to have the rabbit hole stretch on further before her eyes. And their chances of survival lessen with each step they took.