Crimson

Sera’s eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness of the night now, a smile plastered across her lips as she looked back at Leon.

Mana seemed to be overflowing from the mark on her shoulder, more than she had ever felt before, even in her previous experiences of having cursed others.

How much mana does Leon have? I’ve never even heard rumors of a human with even half of his reserves.

She hardened her resolve, walking forward to the other two Hunters in the field. Her body glowed dimly in the night, the air surrounding her illuminated.

Using her power, she motioned at a boulder with her hand, and without touching it, she raised her arm, and the rock floated into the air.

As if it were a mere ball, she tossed the rock through the air at the blindfolded Hunter at a blinding velocity.

The Hunter swung her hand, and the rock shattered around her in a cloud of smaller pebbles, some barely grazing her skin, leaving small scratches and cuts. Her face contorted angrily, enraged at the damage she had been inflicted with.

Sera didn’t wait for a counterattack, though; she began to hurl all the pebbles on the ground in a flurry, quickly overwhelming the Hunter.

The female Hunter dodged and weaved around, slowly making bounds closer to Sera. Sera looked back at Leon, seeing his whole body engulfed in light blue flames.

Good, he’s healing up quickly. Just a couple more minutes and he’ll join me in the battle.

The Hunter launched an attack on Sera as she gained ground, flinging her red needles.

Sera took a step back, thrusting her hands forward in desperation, stopping all the needles in the air and then falling to the ground.

She could still feel the mana pooling into her through the mark, but didn’t want to drain Leon completely of his mana.

The female Hunter stopped approaching, raising an open palm towards Sera.

“What incredible power! I’m so lucky to have found not one, but two amazing power-wielders.” She said.

Sera tensed up, sensing evil intentions coming from the Hunter.

“Both of my lackeys here were already defeated so easily, it’s such a shame.” She added, tilting her head, “How did a mere girl like you come across such an incredible power?”

“You’re acting like it’s a blessing. I-”

A hand squeezed lightly on her shoulder, beckoning her to stop.

“That’s enough. She’s just trying to squeeze information out of you.” Leon said, glaring at the Hunter.

“Well, now you’re just ruining my fun.” The Hunter said, her body indicating she was studying Leon.

Leon pushed Sera aside, confronting the Hunter head-on.

“First, you don’t show you’re full potential to me, and now you’re just being mean. Why don’t we banter a little, entertain each other?” She teased, the symbols on her blindfold glowing brightly.

“Why would I ever want to entertain someone like you?” Leon hissed.

The Hunter pouted, “Like me? Because I’m a Hunter? It seems you have some history with us. My, you just keep getting more interesting by the second.”

Leon charged at the Hunter, swinging a kick at her.

She stepped out of the way, dashing backwards.

“I thought you were enjoying the little rest I gave you. After all, it seems you had plenty of time to heal up your shattered arms, remarkable.” She giggled, pressing a palm to her mouth in amusement.

“Just shut up already!” Sera shouted, lifting more rocks into the air, hurtling them at the Hunter.

She effortlessly dodged through all of them, but was nearly caught off guard by Leon, who had sent a stream of flame her direction.

Unable to completely avoid the attack, she contorted her body, only allowing one gloved hand to be damaged.

“Seems you aren’t out of tricks yet.”

Leon and Sera scowled at her resistance.

“Since it seems this fight may be coming to an end soon, allow me to introduce myself.” Her lips curled into a delighted grin. “You may call me the Crimson Nail.”

Leon’s eyes widened slightly.

Sera looked at the surprise in his face, wondering what was going through his head. A history with the Hunters? And her name seemed to make him react? I should investigate this once we’re out of conflict.

Leon crouched to the ground, the air around him starting to sizzle and shimmer. His legs and arms glowed with heat as they touched the ground, a new intensity of his bloodlust filling the atmosphere.

Sera felt crippled by the intensity of his emotions, her breath coming out in short, ragged spurts.

Sparks formed around the crown of Leon’s head and from behind him. Flames began to spread around his feet, the grass instantly catching on fire.

The marks on the Hunter’s blindfold glowed with more intensity, her gaze fixed directly on Leon.

“Y- you’re a-!” She stammered, regaining her composure, “It all makes sense now. I feel honored to be the one to finally find you, after you disappeared so long ago.”

“You aren’t going to get out of here alive,” Leon growled.

The Hunter stayed silent for once, her remaining glove rising, preparing to defend herself.

Leon launched from the ground, blitzing directly to Crimson, unleashing a devastating flurry of attacks.

Sera could only see flashes of blood-red needles and flames as the two fought ruthlessly. Their movements were so fast she couldn’t keep track of where they were as they darted through the meadow, exchanging blows.

“Damn it all!” Leon screamed, blood trailing down his forehead from where Crimson had struck him.

She blocked most of his kicks, but the heat Leon was emitting was beginning to burn her skin.

Crimson darted away, dashing for the fallen Mute.

“What? What are you doing?”

Mute screamed in pain, the air vibrating around him with more intensity than before.

Leon covered his ears, the sound making his ears nearly bleed.

When the screaming quieted, Crimson was running away back to the forest.

Leon sprinted after her, his heat still burning the ground with every step.

“STOP!”

Leon ceased moving, paralysed by the voice.

Mute, who had been lying near death on the ground, was now standing eerily.

Leon turned his head back at Mute, his body still unable to move.

Mute’s clothes were stained crimson, blood seeping from his eyes and mouth as he lumbered towards Leon.

Crimson disappeared into the forest, leaving Leon behind with Mute.

As Mute approached Leon, his skin began to turn an unsettling color of red, darkening with each step he took.

“Leon!” Sera screamed, sprinting towards him from afar.

Suddenly, Mute fell to his knees, looking up at the sky in sheer desperation.

His body began to grow larger, and the blood then covered his entire body. The blood began to glow brightly as Mute gurgled a scream through the thick layers of blood, the air vibrating violently.

The sounds of his screams were muffled as he became encased in the fountain of blood being emitted from his body.

Then silence, only the sounds of liquid rushing across the ground.

BOOM!

The shockwave sent Leon skidding across the grass, the explosion sending some of the same needles Crimson used into the air, impaling themselves into his body.

After his body came to a stop, Leon laid there in defeat, the heat from his body dissipating. His eyes peered up at the sky, the stars still shining, looking down on him from afar.

Leon stifled a chuckle, the pains of the damage he received finally catching up to him.

“Leon!” Sera ran up to him, seeing his bloodied arms and body. “You don’t look so good. Hurry up and heal yourself!”

“Just let me rest for a moment.”

“You’re going to bleed out if you stay like that.”

Leon changed his gaze to Sera, seeing how worried she looked at him.

“Alright,” Leon summoned up some foxfire into his hands, yet unwilling to move, he said, “Just take this and toss it on me.” His hands opened with the light-blue foxfire flickering.

“Why did you have to fight so hard?” Sera asked, not expecting an answer. She cupped the foxfire from his hands and placed it on his forehead and arms. “I felt so helpless, watching you fight like that.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t. I know you did what you had to do.”

Leon stayed silent, allowing the flames to patch his injuries.

The stars began to dim in the sky as the morning light approached over the horizon, the flames from the battle flickering away.