Ch 14: You're Welcome.

When Hiro turned, the room had once again shifted. This time, it was a lengthy cathedral hall, ornamented with stained glass windows. Thick circular pillars of stone and bookshelves supported the ceiling.

The girl, pointing and staring straight at him, had seemingly come out of nowhere. Taken aback by her beauty, Hiro questioned whether she was real or another one of the library's tricks.

A flowery silhouette standing atop brown boots. Covered in flowing black fabrics, buckled with a brown cape, straps, and holsters. To Hiro, her outfit was practically screaming ‘mage’.

With a long-layered wolf-cut, her wispy bangs on either side split and framed her face perfectly. Shorter, choppier layers at the top that gradually lengthened towards just below her shoulders, feathered with natural movement. Jet-Black near her crown, fading into a midnight blue, then a vibrant lapis blue near the ends.

Her silver eyes, crystal necklace, and hanging teardrop earrings complemented each other, glistening like diamonds, all with the same shine, boldly and beautifully contrasting her darker hair.

Hiro’s face shrank back at the accusation, his eyes squinting comically hard at her even though she was practically standing within arm’s reach. He stood there like an old man without his glasses, lost in her mesmerising eyes. But Hiro had no recollection of her. Having remembered every pretty woman he ever came across, he was certain he had never seen her before.

“Yes, honey, how have you been?” he said with a forced smile.

“You’re the guy who stole my engine!”

“Eh?” Hiro dropped into a blank expression, “I’ve never seen you in my life.”

“LIES!” she exclaimed, cerulean blue light forming at her palms. “Fourth Echelon,” the young lady chanted, her diamond necklace shining as bright as her eyes.

Fourth huh.

“I call upon the great ocean spirits of the Azure, grant me strength, Striking Tides!!!”

Water swirled around the glowing rune circle, gaining turbulence with each rotation.

The blue from her hair and spell reflected in Hiro’s eyes. From jet-black to midnight blue to a vibrant cobalt, it was like sunrise illuminating the ocean waves as it emerged on the horizon.

Lost in the glimmering current, Hiro didn’t have enough time to dodge.

Down to his last resort, he raised his right arm, and the rune circle and its blue light stuttered; the current of water glitched before breaking apart.

“AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH," a blood-curdling scream howled, thundering in the hollow hall.

The atmosphere suddenly became dense, not the air but the aether.

Instantly, both Mira and Hiro turned, snapping their necks in its direction, distancing themselves from each other. She charged a spell circle in her palms, as Hiro readied his hands on the gadgets at his waist.

A man sprawled into the room. Tattoos embellished his head without hair as his panelled armour clinked and rattled as he scurried, tripping over his own feet.

His face contorted into an intense expression.

Hiro recognised it. After all, there once was a time he wore that same expression himself. It was the shivering chill creeping down your neck and your spine. The painful slamming of your heart into your ribcage. The invisible noose tightening around your throat. The slithering itch that made you want to crawl out of your skin. The unshakable terror of impending doom.

That’s it. FEAR.

But it didn’t last long. The expression was ripped off his face. Not just his expression, but the whole upper half of his body.

Razor-sharp claws and fur peeking out of scarred metal. A wide jaw stacked with teeth upon teeth, already dripping red. Piercing yellow eyes. Freakishly large, the grand cathedral hall seemed like a toy house in comparison.

The wolf-like creature barrelled towards them at such a speed that its claws blurred from motion. Then, a bloodbath. Blue blood. Foreboded by a sharp screech, the creature split down the middle like a hot knife through butter. Strands of tendons and stringy organs snapped as the two halves fell to either side, bathing the floor in a pool of blue viscous soup.

“What took you so long?” The mage said.

Hiro immediately recognised the silhouette from its aerobatic movements, landing softly just in front of the diced wolf. The boy didn’t reply; instead, he lifted his finger in front of him, inscribing white lettering in the air that read “Who’s that?”.

This kid literally saw me five minutes ago. Also, why isn’t he speaking?

“It was this guy who stole my engine, do you remember?” the mage asked, pointing at Hiro.

But the young boy only shook his head, before signing white text in the air once again, “Are you killing him? Or should I?”

Before the girl could answer, Hiro interjected, “I’ll kill both of you.”

Unlatching a black box from his belt, Hiro threw it into the air, encapsulating the room in a blinding flash of white light. It was one of his first inventions. He called it—the box mark three. Blinding the room for a few seconds, he took his chance. Two black daggers, curved to a tapered point, their edges serrated, one flying to each person.

As if cracking his neck, the boy slightly tilted, and the blade narrowly missed him. The sound of clashing metal rang out as the girl deflected with a two-headed spear—a brown handle with two large silver blades on each end. 

“Watch out, the blades are coated with something.” She warned, spinning her weapon between her fingers.

Being a passionate inventor all his life, Hiro loved making his own weapons. The daggers he threw were no exception. Clicking a button on his gloves, the daggers hovered off the ground before slicing through the air toward him. The young boy evaded the returning knife, while the other caught on the end of the mage's cloak.

Both knives landed cleanly back into Hiro’s hands, emitting a satisfying metal clink.
“I can take this one myself. You can keep moving to the next room.” The young boy signed.

Golden hair covering his eyes, and the rest of his face expressionless, Hiro couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

This brat is cocky that’s for sure.

“It’s okay. I’ll just wait till you're finished.” The girl replied with a gentle smile.

The boy launched himself into the air once more, as Hiro responded with a flying dagger. Somersaulting, the boy curved his body out of the blade's projection, reaching his hand out; the air around it rippled slightly.

Hiro rolled forward as the high-pitched screech echoed through the hollow cathedral, slicing the bookshelf behind where he had been standing. The boy landed back on his feet with the missed dagger behind him and Hiro in front.

Gotcha.

Clicking his glove, the dagger gained momentum, zipping at speed. The boy, still facing Hiro, ducked, the blade slicing through where his neck would’ve been. Without wasting a moment, he stepped forward, his hand reaching toward Hiro’s head. Too quick for him to react.

Accepting his fate, Hiro spat out his cigarette, glancing toward the pretty mage standing on the sidelines.

Ah, I didn’t even get to ask her name.

CRACK!

The searing bolt of lightning lanced right in between the boy and Hiro, causing the boy to step backwards to dodge.