novelraw Chapter 322 - 264 - Divide
Chapter 322 - 264 - Divide
"They sure are late," Vince mumbled to himself as he manned the cash register with Mila and Zephyr.
Holly, Solana, Vivi, and Lee worked the back, and made whatever Mila shouted back to them. Miro was absent--he had to take a break back in his hotel room. The dizzying amount of Maestro magic that hung in the air had made him nauseous, so he was sitting out this evening's festivities.
"That Rebecca chick is kind of a battle nut, wouldn't be surprised if they stopped at every court on the way here just to watch," Mila scoffed as she counted up change for a customer.
"Maybe…" The Maestro did remember what Shouri told him of Rebecca's previous Maestros. It was something that stuck with him after the loss of Cecil. People were complicated--just because most of Rebecca's life had been tailored to her being a battler didn't mean she hated it. Perhaps she prided herself on the knowledge she had accumulated; the blood, sweat, and tears had to be worth something.
Or maybe he was just overthinking things, either way.
As the sun began to set over Jenteri, many exhausted Maestros and their Resonators considered dinner plans. It meant that the little food stall, even so far out of the way, saw no shortage of patrons.
The crowds gathered around the booth were intense, and Solana's crew worked fast to fill as many orders as they could. It was grueling labor and the four in the back were thankful for the support Vince and his Resonators offered.
Handling the customers was the easy part, Mila tended to the cash register, while Vince got the orders and conveyed them to the back for prep. Zephyr's contribution was being a second set of eyes and ears to catch any mistakes before they happened. It was easy from her spot on Vince's shoulder. They put up with the comments and gawking of the public regarding the fairy's presence, as his shoulder was a better vantage point than where she normally hid.
All together, the seven made a well-oiled machine that processed orders faster than any other crew who worked food service for the event.
As they worked Zephyr's gaze locked on to a particular Maestro in the crowd. They were an odd sort of person; a woman, pale, sickly almost. Their lips moved slowly, enough to be readable.
Ghia-ccio-lo
Her heart stopped. "SHIELD!" screamed the fairy.
Vince reacted, as did Mila.
"Scudo Prosciugante, Fortissimo!"
Chaos.
In the next instant, a massive ice spell smashed into the stall. Chunks of wood and ice fragments flew everywhere. People screamed and panic descended on the festival as frightened festival goers scattered in every direction.
Mila brushed the fallen debris off of herself and Vince. The cat's dagger-filled scowl cut through the madness and locked onto the caster of that spell.
The woman Zephyr spotted stood like a puppet on strings, while a tall, pale man towered over her. His smirk was cold, calculating, and full of deadly intent.
"Now isn't this unexpected? I fully intended for that to be your demise," the man spoke, his voice as chilly has his countenance.
"Scintilla di Saggezza, Ultrissimo!"
Before anyone could react, Holly flew out of the rubble at lightning speed, and took their attacker to the ground. Without mercy, the zalavan plunged a knife into the man's chest. As quick as her thrust was, she drew the knife back out but didn't stop--back down the blade went for a second and third stab.
The audacity of what just occurred froze Vince and his duo until they realized what the little plant girl was doing. "Holly! Stop!" screamed the Maestro.
"Don't you know a cryptid when you see one?!" she shouted. She didn't have time to elaborate as the man's hand bolted to her neck and squeezed it.
"Gack!" The zalavan's eyes bugged out as she instinctively grabbed at the force that crushed her windpipe. Before she lost consciousness, the girl turned to bark on the spot and ejected herself out of the back of her armor, two of her holly berries burning away in the process. The girl grasped her neck as she wheezed.
"I don't know what a cryptid is--" Mila's eyes darted around to the innocent people caught up in the attack. Several lay motionless nearby. "But I'm not letting you get away with this shit." Her wrists lit up with wrathful flames.
The cryptid rose from his prone position, dusting off his bloodied attire. "Goodness. He failed to inform me this bush has thorns," spoke the enemy Resonator.
Solana joined Vince, alongside Vivi and Lee. "Are you okay?" asked the chef.
"For now," Vince said, swallowing hard. As he studied their adversary, it clicked in place. "You're a vampire, aren't you?" Vince asked.
"Desmond von Aisling, at your service." The Resonator bowed. He grinned, his practically knife-like fangs glinting in the street lights. "Unfortunately, the service is your imminent demise."
Mila trembled, not with fear, but boiling rage. Vince could feel it--it took everything in her willpower to keep herself from blindly attacking this man. Zephyr, too, was ready to attack. Holly and Vivi were among the ranks of wanting to end this vampiric threat.
Solana stepped forward and knelt next to her zalavan, handing off the plant's seed satchel. "Do you need me here?" asked the chef.
"No, have Vivi move the injured out of here, and Lee can start triaging. Me and Vince will keep this guy busy," Holly advised, as she put on her bag of seeds. Solana nodded.
As the chef stepped back to allow her nature element to work, she passed a piece of advice to Vince. "Don't bother trying to call anyone," she advised.
"Why?" wondered the younger Maestro.
"The cryptid species trait, Mysterion Air, prevents any form of electronic communication from working while they're nearby." With her piece said, she went to perform her duty.
"That's bullshit," Vince grumbled, as he stared at his tuner where multiple undelivered notifications graced his screen. He only hoped they could deal with this threat using the tools they prepared for this exact situation.
The boy stepped forward, as did his loyal cat, ready with Holly to fight this vampire.
"Solar ossias?" whispered the zalavan.
"Yeah. Zephyr has coverage for every element," he whispered back.
"Good. I'll try to restrain him. Go for a killing blow," the plant advised.
Mila nodded. "With pleasure."
Pandemonium.
If their current situation had any moniker, it was that.
Admittedly, they should have met with Vince and Solana hours ago, but Rebecca wanted to see nearly every battle. Given the city-wide tournament, there was plenty to watch. They even stopped and grabbed lunch at one point and resumed watching. Shouri quietly hoped they would pick up more ossias for their effort. Sadly, only the first match they watched had duelists of that caliber. The rest felt like watching little league by comparison.
Before they knew it, the sun had set, and it was like the disappearance of the day star was the firing gun for chaos.
Screams erupted from the edge of the city and panicked civilians ran away from what was described as an attack by some crazy guy who wielded ice magic.
Shouri had a sinking feeling about the whole situation. When they tried to rush out toward the source of the commotion, however, a certain figure barred their way.
Abilene and Briar stood in their path. As did a compliment of wood bears--Artemis Arktoi, the plant ultimate attack spell. The army spawned by ultimate magic stood as an impenetrable wall, as if to say "you will not pass."
When his trio of Resonators tensed and readied themselves to fight, Shouri shook his head and prepared himself. The plant school attack ultimate was a hell of a wall to get by. If they were capable of such magic, any bit of information would be invaluable. With that in mind, he mumbled a quick "Ricerca Vitale" in Moderato rank.
Taika focused on Briar as the rhythm flowed into her eyes.
The information streamed into her mind, but she winced, and broke eye contact. The vixen shook her head--it was indecipherable.
A̵̢̢͓̟̹̜̻̜̹̼̒̀̈̂́̄̋̀͊͜b̷̡̢͚͍̘̠̤̥̳͓̰͓̲͎̠̬̺̉̆̐ī̴̤̩̩l̸̘͍̘̟͉̜͗̓̽̔̅̒͑͊̏̎̈́͒̋̾͗͆̑ę̵̨̝͍̮̉̊̑̏̀͛̓̿̾͛̐̈́͊́͆̐͘ņ̵̛̦̳͎̥̭̹̲̦̲̗͓̞̺́̅̀͌̓̽͝ě̵̡̢̧̧̲͎̰̲̭̼͉͇͙̤̝̝̄̃͝ ̸̧̭̤̞͉͍̘̝̹̦̝̲̟̺͋̿̐̓̓̎͑͂̉͋̀̚͘̚͜͝ͅͅÁ̸̙̜̜̩̥̹̹̙̠̟͇̏̑̓̀͆ͅr̷̛̙͈̠͌͊͑ͅb̸̡͉̼͙̜̜̉͌͊͐̾̒o̵̼̙̥͖̤̿̾̿̅̉̄́͗r̸̢̨̳̮̟̗͓͙̳̤̟͂͊͑̅̐̒͂̐͐̍͑̇͑̚͝͝s̸̛͓̗̼̠̺̭͕̉͋͊͗͒̂̓̏́̎̅̊͒̅͘̕͜͜
̶̨̨̱̼̗̩̖̈́̓̃́͌͗̈́̈́̌̍̍̕̚̕͝Ŗ̶̲̣̣͍̂̉̋̈́̅̂ͅȩ̶̞͇̰͍͓̻͓̋ͅͅš̷̨̞̗̘̹͇̫̼̭̳͇͚̳̼͚̩͆̈́̂͋̿̚͘͠͠ơ̴̭̻̼͈͓̲̬̭͗̓̅̒͋͒́̍͘̚ñ̶̯̃̑͑͒̅͛̑̉͗̄͠͠a̷̙͓̣͉̹̺̺̻͔̜̓͗́̏͌͒̾ͅt̶̨̗͙̺̯̻̞̬̖̞̑o̵̤͔̜͐̈̉̔̽r̸̜͔͙͎͉̳̺̥̘̼͚͔̠̃̓̏͆́̎̀̒̓͂̅̈́͐͆͝ͅ:̵̨̛̬͓̯̺͉͎̲̈́̈͒́͐̓̍͑́̋͒͌̀͜ ̸̧̡̡͉͎͉͚̰͙̣̻͎̊́̌̂̇̏̀́B̶̨̨̨̹͕͍̞̻̦̗̫͚͓̳͚̉́̊͗̏̒̋̿͆̿̓̚̚͠ř̴͕͂́̎͠i̵̖̜͐̎̏̿̐̃̈́̒͆́͑̈́̍̄͐͑͝a̶̢͎̬͕͙̤̙͖̪̮͎̹͔͈͂͊̒̔̇̏̓ͅr̷̡̦̼͖͍̹͍̘̾̀̾̎̈́̅́̓̄̃̅̚ ̷̡̧̤͚̪̥̬͇̤̠̬̭̥͕͓̓̃͂̉̒̒̋͋̾̈́̇͝͝(̶͈̤̦̬̤̣̣͈̟̙͎͂̉F̶͙̜̭̪͇̗̣͉͉̒ȍ̵̤̱͈̦͕͙͋͆͒̈́̐͆̀̈́̂̈́͑͝ŗ̴̡̼̞̥̙̜͚̮͔̹̞͚̊̔̉͠ͅḝ̴̛̙̲̦̻̙̣̪̩͚̺͉͇̅̍̐͗̏̈́̽s̸̡̨̯̣͈̭̙̬̈́̊̈̈́͌̈̏̋̾̾̂̎̍͂̕̚ţ̶̧̨̢̮̼̞͖͈̙͖͉͈̦͗͛͐͐̒͝ ̴̖̘̟̪̺͔͆̾͗̆̚K̷̡̛̛̘͇̂̀̊̍̂͛̿̽̂̈́̽͑̔͘ȧ̵̮̳̱̹͇̘̣̟͚̼̻̇͑̊͛̚͝l̶̛̜͛́̍̂̈̌̈͝î̶̪́͐̊͝m̶̨͍͍͋ͅb̴̢̡̢͖̯̥̻̪͇̙̽͌̀͆̈̓̌̓̾̏͗̔̇͌͜͝ȃ̶͉̹͇̝̼̳̃̈͐͋͑̐̌͛͆̎̂̒̚͘̚)̶̪͚͛͌̅͆͂̈̏͑͜͠͝
Š̸̛̭̀p̷̡̛̛͓̲̹͖͉͙͔̭̯͍̦̻͌̈́͆̾̊͆͜͝͝ḛ̷̱͈̠̠̩̤́̓̚c̸̖̼̝̊̐́̽̌͋̒̇̃̉̓̌͠i̶̼͙͒̊̔͆̒͊̈́͊̎̆͘e̴̱̮̓͐̔͂͛̓̀s̵̢̨͖̯̬͙̖̩̦̠̻͎̱͔̼̽̎͐́͊̊́̄̔̈͘͝͠͠͠:̷̡̹͎̳̳̬̹̝̰̚ ̷̻͇͙̎̀̀̈̎̓E̶̫̝͉̥͂̾̈̏̓̐̒́͐͗͐̎̏́̏̕t̵̢̢̙͔̫̮̱̻͖̞͓͍̝̟̬̆͐̐̏͆̎̅̾̎̀́̿̃̑̄̕h̶̳͇͕̦̤̝̙̦̰͇̩̣͖̝͈̱͛͗̋̈́̂̿̔̽́͠ę̷̛̞̏̀̂̓̄̾́͊͌̓͐̉̃̕r̷̜͗́͑̓́̈́͛̈̌̓̿̕͠e̶̤̖͚̪̙̝̗̻͔͉̰͚͍̘̲̾̐̃̈̎̌ͅa̴̢̪̩̮̗̭͖̙̙̥̰͎̩̍̅́̿̇̐̋̑̌͗̏̃͘l̸̢̠͇̩͉̩̱̬̐͒͌̀̐̌̆̀͊͋̆̇̄̇̓̕̕ ̴̢̢̣̜̲̲̟̯̱̃̏̒͆̿̽̑̄(̵̡͇̥̝͉̫̘̦̞̣̘̫̃̀͒̈̌̀͌́̈́̽͘͜͠ͅŨ̴͖͕̤̳͓̩̹̲͚̰̣̖͎̻͕̌̓͒͐̎̈́́̔́̀̏̓ͅn̴̨̡̧̜̣̹̟͈͆̆̈́̓͝͝i̵̢͔̳̟̞͔͙͈͔̣͕̜̣̥͂́̍̀̃̔̇̈́́͒́̀c̴̖̹̭͚͖̬̅͂́̿̾͑̎̔͘͝o̵͕͕̗̟̰̭̮͊r̶̢̥̻̗͔̜̜̗̙̼̙͇̣̭̔̿̿̐͝ṅ̸̺̮̙̓̐̾̄͌̾̎̓͂̊̀͌͐̈̚)̴̢͍͈̟͚̠̘̝̮̣̣͋͒̀̐̏̽͝ͅͅ
Ē̴̢̞͍̱͔̼̲̠̻̤̹͒͗͋̿̆͋̓͠ͅͅļ̶̛̦̭̻̱̹̈́̏̈͐̀́̂̓̏̚͝ḕ̸̡̛̘̫͕̣͍̅̈́́̈̍̕͘̚͜͝m̵̢̢͚̩̱͎͙̼̦͖̗̮̭͒͑̈́̄̉̌͌͘͠͠e̶̛̥͖̐̕ņ̴͔͇̬̬̞̱̬̻̄̒̇͗͐͆͒̍̏̇̄̆ẗ̴̨̢̨̹̜̖̬̰̓̋̈́̇̄́̏̓͝:̷̨̭͍͖̪̪̘͇̇͆ ̸̛̰̹̎̒̐̐̓̐̈͂̕̕Ň̶̡͚̝̬̌a̸̡̢̯̤̦͕̭͕̥͖͗̒̋̃̇̇̒́̉̋̃̔̈́͝ͅt̷͕̲̏̆̓̈̊̃̂̓̿̅́̓͐͘͝͠u̵̲̻̓̋̽̑̃̃́̌́̋̂́̕͠r̵̢̡̹̩̮͍̱̦͖͈̲̥̣͠͠e̶̡͔̖̼̙̙͋̊̒͂̓͒̋̽͋̀́̃̑̚͘͝
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Ä̶̛͓͕͕̮̗̯̂͐̆̈́̇̑̋͂̐́̚̕͝t̴̢̧̟͙̦̙̯͗t̵͛͌̂̋͌̿̈̈́̎́̃̏̃͠ͅř̴̨̡̢̰̻̤̜͙̞̻͓̰̻̄̉͐͗͝i̷̡̧̜̟̹̱̟̱͎͍̰̹̲͌̐̀͐̆̋̈́͑͗̊͒̐̀̀͛̕͠b̸̨̰̻̫̠̘͔̄̎̇̒̑̈́̾͊̓̐͂̎̆̀͗͝͠ų̸̬̙͎̙͚̯͖̮̹̗̩̜͈̞̀̏̑̽̀͗͜ͅt̵͚̺̗͚̳̎͌ͅͅe̵̛̝̋̋̃̈́̏͝:̴̧̧̛̼̥̩̭̖̫̞͓̬̤̞͉̲̺͙́̎̑̾͆̿͌̇́̈́̾̑ ̴͚̣́́̉̇̅͜ͅA̴̢̱͙̣̦͈̣̟̳̺͎̭̦̭̔͐͂̃́̅̑͆̿͗͑͐̏͆͋̔̚ḷ̴̡̨̛̛̭̟̲̩̙͖̥̙̘́̋̈́̓̄͜͝m̸͔͇̘̠͔͚̏į̶͎̜͙̭͌̓͗̋̈̎̀̈́͜g̵͚͙̎̈́̌̍h̷̛̬̬̯̭̱̉́̃̽̋̓̌͜t̸̥̯͇̜̲̻̜́̿̿̄̃̑͋̋̍̎̚͝͝͠ý̸̧̥̳̰͓̦̗͇̾̀̉͗͊̾̋
R̸̡̨̰̞͇̻͓̬̙̤͍̘̜͓̫̎̊̐̏͛͋͝ͅḧ̶̡̛̺̲̰͍̘͍͕̙̭̝͈̙͉͕̜̄̓̎̏̿y̷̝͓̘̤͒̃̂͒̒̎̃̓̎̔́͂̉̌̕ͅt̶̘̝͈̙͓͓̞̜̥̳̥̯͂̃h̶̨̺̭̝̮̼̩̉̈́͌̔̅͒̐̾̊͘͜͜͝m̶̡̖̽̾͆͊̕͝:̵̢̛͇̺̫̖̬͂͗̒̚ ̶̡̝̗͇̮͈̩̲̜̦̙͓̱̯̞̔͊̓̔̔͛̈́̔̈́͛͝͠1̶̨̺̰̫͓̠̤̺͕͎̳̳͔̖̱̻͛̎́̏̓̄́̔̌̀̂͆̇͘̚͠ͅ0̶̘̝̆̇́0̶͉̲̋̽͋͒̎̄͠͠%̵͕̗̠̱̟̥̤̘̯̱̝̤̳̀̓̔̊̔
S̵̗̱̬͙̥̲̼͌ț̸̢̼͎̟̟̫͎̣̱̹̫͔̖̭̯̹̌̐̓̇͘a̴̧̧͍̪̳͇̝͈̙͕̮̩̭̟͋̒̎̅͛́̐̽͘t̴̢̡̞̩̐͛̀̔̓̔ű̷̞̪̮̮̟̺͇̠̬̞̎̀̈́̅̇̀̄́̃͂̈͗͒̎̐̚ͅş̶̛̥̯̩̙̹͈̰̓̄͐͋̀̀ͅ:̷̡͚̟̼̬͉̦̬̼̫̽̋ ̵̢̢̢̡̹̹͖̺̦̫͍̳̙͈̘̽͛̃Ṙ̶̜̺̟͗e̶̡̜̼̤̯̗̦̊̽͐̇ȧ̵̧̢̡̯͉̭͔̤̝͇̗͂͂̅̈́͋͛̈́̀̓̿̾̈́͗͝d̷̳̯͉͕͍͖͈̝̘̯̣̟̤̟̯͔͂̎̏͒̀̆͒̃̽̚̕y̴̧̥͕̘̠̞̟̺͇͛͑́̌͌̇͘͘͠ͅ
Rebecca's ears twitched as Shouri and Taika exchanged hushed confusion. Something was wrong, what could possibly stop Ricerca Vitale from getting a read? It came to the fire fox after a second of thought, and it wasn't a conclusion that inspired confidence. Rebecca took in a breath. "You're the Forest Kalimba, aren't you?!" shouted the fire fox, which earned shocked stares from her three loves.
The Ethereal in question chuckled. "Guilty as charged. What gave me away?" she asked.
"Pattern recognition. Also, it felt like you were toying with that Zacara Academy girl. Putting on a show," Rebecca replied.
"Damn, and I thought I was pretty convincing." Briar shrugged. "Ah well." She let her shoulders become slack for a moment before she dropped into a fighting stance. "I'm Briar, the unicorn known as the Orchestra of Heaven's Forest Kalimba. Sorry, but I can't let you get any closer."
"Great, knew we should have done some practice matches against Nina," Shouri mumbled.
"What do we do, Sho?" asked Taika.
"You stay by me, Rebecca will attack from the front." The Maestro took a breath. "Paci, let's à deux," he whispered.
"Against an Ethereal?!" hissed the otter.
"We need to be as sharp as possible. I need to be in there with you. I'd do it with Rebecca if I could, but you and I are the only ones practiced in it," he retorted.
Taika also didn't like it, but quietly agreed to stay on the sidelines, if for no other reason than to be the last line of defense if something happened. She knew if Pacifica and Rebecca fell they were counting on her to get the hell out of there with Shouri. For that, her beads were at the ready, but she stayed close to their Maestro, at maximum alertness.
There was clear trepidation in putting Shouri in such danger, but Pacifica relented. "Fine." She took a breath, her chest rising with his, and in that moment, his senses synchronized within her own. Likewise, he now stared down an immortal through both the eyes of a Maestro and his Resonator.
Rebecca started. She rocketed at the opposing Resonator. There were two things that kept the situation from becoming hopeless.
The first thing was Ethereals could still be beaten in battle. Killed, no; but it was possible to defeat them. They weren't omniscient, omnipotent, or any variation of omni whatever.
The other was the fact that Briar was tied to a mortal Maestro. Attrition was a win condition.
If only it was that simple; surviving would be the difficult part.
Rebecca made first contact. Unfortunately, the battle-hardened vixen discovered Briar was no slouch in hand-to-hand combat. As the two began their first exchange of punches and kicks, limbs flew wild and hard. Each strike was sent with intent to harm. Rebecca felt as much as she blocked and diverted blows. They weren't playing around here.
As Rebecca broke off from their first engagement, Shouri's voice and rhythm reached her. "Scottare, Legato!" Apparently, Shouri held both of their tuners, as a Pacifica-cast column of steam reached Briar first. The unicorn rolled out of the way of the first shot and Rebecca let loose her own, which cut off another escape path for the Ethereal. Briar was no greenhorn and managed to worm her way around both attacks--a jump and pivot in mid-air saved her from any direct damage that would have resulted from the blasts of super-heated vapor.
"Foglie a Lame, Fortissimo," Abilene spoke.
Pacifica and Shouri noticed a peculiarity in the opposing Maestro's voice.
"Her voice."
"It's weird."
They didn't have time to think about it further, as a storm of knife-like leaves spun through the air at the two Resonators. Pacifica was further away, so she had an easier time dodging. Despite the extra distance, she still had to tap into her ad-Lib to fully protect herself. Rebecca fared worse; she took the sharpened leaves head-on, and relied on her fire element to weather the storm. As soon as the spell stopped, the fire element pressed the attack.
"Arcobaleno Fuoco, Piano!"
Shouri's command flowed through Rebecca, and she launched a burst of rainbow energy at point blank range. The unicorn was thrown flying back, giving the three behind Rebecca more distance and breathing room.
Briar easily landed on her feet and rushed back at her adversary to regain lost ground.
"Avvelenamento da Metalli Pesanti, Legato," Abilene called.
Again, Shouri and Pacifica were perplexed by the opposing Maestro's tone. It sounded as if--
"She's not there."
"Why does it seem familiar?"
Silver poison flew freely from the nature Ethereal, and earned some quick footwork from Rebecca and Pacifica to avoid the liquid metal. It splashed against the ground which necessitated Rebecca take to the sky, while Pacifica washed it away with all of the water she had in her bottle.
"Bolide, Rubato! Make us some time!" Shouri and Pacifica cried together.
"You got it!" Rebecca launched a flurry of fireballs, which exploded into a maelstrom of flames that illuminated the city streets with the fury of their battle.
Moment secured, Shouri cast, "Mani nell'Acqua, Lento."
Pacifica filled her bottle to the brim, capped it off and continued to let water spill around her. When the rhythm ran dry, she scooped up the ground water with her ad-Lib and sent it to orbit around her in two rings. Shouri helped her with this feat, which she appreciated. He'd make a pretty good water element, she had to admit.
Briar doused the flames closest to her with Mare Rossa, the call of the spell drowned out by Rebecca's explosive assault.
Rebecca clicked her tongue. Her gaze flicked between the Ethereal and her Maestro. Briar breathed hard, sweat graced her brow as it glistened under fire light. She was being worn down, but…
The fire fox was burning herself. In the grand scheme of things this fight hadn't gone on for long, but even so, Rebecca knew she wouldn't walk out of this with her shoes intact.
Taika would just heal her. There was no point in holding back. For that, Rebecca threw herself back into the fray.
Unicorn and fox exchanged pleasantries in the forms of martial prowess. Rebecca's flames didn't have the chance to do any real damage. Her limbs were the weapons here. She had to break through, deal real damage. If she relented for even a second, this monster would hurt the ones she loved.
For that, Rebecca Renard burned brighter than any Resonator ever had.
Pacifica remained at the ready. She and Shouri didn't have the confidence to directly interfere in the brawl. It was too close, too messy. The two fighters were practically tangled with one another. This was Rebecca's domain, and the pair in à deux remained at the ready, in case things took a turn.
The melee continued. In the middle of the scuffle, as the two fighters locked eyes, Rebecca noticed the unicorn make slight tilts with her head, until Rebecca's eyes fell to her mouth.
"Help us," Briar mouthed. Even despite being in a furious exchange of punches, kicks, and spells, Rebecca managed to read her enemy's lips.
"What?!" Rebecca hissed.
"He's always watching. He's holding Abby hostage, keep fighting."
The fire fox had no idea what to do with this information. The good thing was she could be as rough as she wanted with Briar given the unicorn's immortality. Not that she wasn't already trying her damnedest. The unicorn could be doing so much worse to them, but she was holding back, or at least as much as she could and still have it be convincing.
Rebecca had to convey this to Shouri somehow. They couldn't be obvious. If Briar and Abilene were being watched…
As if Briar sensed the mental struggle, she mouthed one more thing. "à deux."
Rebecca gulped. Shouri and Pacifica were fully linked right now. Could she barge in on that? Fuck it, she didn't really have a choice. She allowed Briar to take control of the momentum of the fight, shifting to a defensive posture. Rebecca just needed to get her idea across. They didn't have to stay linked long.
Even in the heat of battle, Rebecca focused on her rhythm, her bond with Shouri. It was hard to do. It was like Pacifica was inadvertently sabotaging her. Perhaps if Rebecca invited her to the rhythm party…
Briar stopped swinging, her eyes widening.
In that brief reprieve, over the connection of rhythm, Rebecca got her message through.
BIG! FLASHY! NOW!
Message received loud and clear.
"TAIKA! PACIFICA! LORO FORMATO LUNARE LAGO, LEGATO!" Shouri screamed at the top of his lungs.
Nobody questioned what they needed to do. Twin meteors formed overhead, larger, faster than any casting Briar had ever witnessed. "Fuck, this might hurt," the unicorn laughed. She turned tail and made like the loyal Resonator she was. Nobody would blame her for protecting her Maestro.
Rebecca was that fox's name. Briar would remember that.
BOOOM!