Powers Of Pain

(Fifteen Minutes Ago)

It had only been a short time since Nuzuki and Tatsumi's war began. 

The entire battlefield was already intertwined, and the remaining creature hunters were taking care of the other creatures.

And one of the people who helped the most to hold the creatures back was Chou Yu. Although she was lower than the others on the creature hunter rankings, she was a very strong and strong-willed fighter. And ever since the war began, she has rushed to all kinds of help and beaten many creatures with her bare hands and feet.

At the time, Caitrin, who was in the same area as Chou, was repelling creatures, as she had done since the beginning of the war. She was quickly cutting off her enemies and changed her position constantly to avoid any attack.

And as she fought for a while, she then stepped back and said to herself, as she was gasping for air,

*These creatures do not stop coming. How long do we have to fight anyway?*

And when she was thinking like that, Chou Yu came and helped her by kicking the creature in front of her.

She then landed on the ground and said,

"Are you good? Do you need any help?"

She replied while still taking deep breathes,

"Yeah. I... I'm fine. I just.. need to, rest a little bit."

But as they were talking, they didn't realize the dragon that was flying above them. 

It was flying in circles and had targeted Caitrin and Chou. They were completely unaware of the situation, so it was easy for it to just attack like that, and it did.

The dragon quickly started to fly towards them from the sky and tried to eat them while it did that. There was no obstacle in its way and it was coming right at them.

But at that very moment, a very fast arrow hit the dragon right in the eye and made it fall.

It was Yonabi Tsukiko. She had quickly arrived and helped them from a distance.

And then as she took down her bow, she said to herself,

"It was getting harder but I have finally hit one."

She then stood up and said,

"Now I have to help others."

Then she left there and got far away.

Caitrin and Chou were now safe. At least for a short period of time.

After Yonabi saved them and left there, there was another thing that attacked them. 

It was Hebrans. 

One of the deadliest enemies they can fight with and there were more than one of them. They kept looking at Chou and Caitrin from a distance, with hungry eyes, and kept getting crowded by the second. 

Chou said with a calm manner,

"You stay back. I'll try to handle the ones in front."

But that was not the only problem. There was another Hebran that stood behind the others, and it wasn't that visible. At first, Caitrin thought it was a normal Hebran like the others. But when it got closer, she saw the real size of the creature. 

It was an Hebran, but it was bigger than the other Hebrans and it looked more dangerous. It was twenty feet tall, had bigger teeth than the other Hebrans, had a bigger horn, and was growling extremely furiously. 

Caitrin looked at with fear and said to Chou,

"What is that thing? And why its that big?"

"I don't know, but we should act carefully." Chou replied as she looked at the Hebrans around her.

They were looking at Caitrin and Chou with hungry eyes and kept approaching them. They were in a very hard situation since it was two to ten. But they had no choice other than to fight. 

So Chou jumped towards them and kicked the two in front of her. Then she punched one of them and hit it from top of its head with kicking it. 

While she was fighting, Caitrin tried to fight with the other Hebrans that stood behind the big one and escaped from the incoming attacks.

Chou's actions had made the creatures very angry, but rather than attacking her back directly, they stepped back and opened a way for the big one. And right when they did that, its presence became easily feeleble.

It was growling and was taking heavy steps towards Chou. Then it stopped right in front of her and roared very loudly.

It was a bad thing since she had to fight the big one first, but she took a fighting position and started to fight with it anyway. 

Now both Caitrin and Chou were fighting together. They tried to draw the creatures's attention to them and bring them down one by one. 

This way they were ablşe to keep the Hebrans away from the others and tried to take them down safely. But after a while, the number of creatures increased enormously, and they were completely surrounded.

Caitrin could no longer escape the creature's attacks even though she tried, and had difficulty protecting herself. And Chou was caught under the claw of the very big creature and was struggling to get rid of it. And they had nowhere else to run.

While they were in that situation, Caitrin thought to herself,

*What do we have to do at a moment like this? She came to help me but I still can't do anything!*

And while she was thinking like that, a Hebran hit her behind her back and made her collapse to the ground. 

She was in great pain and was slowly trying to get up. But the hope that was running out and the psychical pain that she felt was making the situation harder.

She then sat down and looked at the creatures that were approaching her.

There was true fear in her eyes and she couldn't move, but she still thought to herself,

*Even Tatsumi is fighting even though he is in a condition like this. But what am I suppose to do? How am I going to save her like this? What do I have to do?*

Caitrin then held her necklace and started having thoughts.

She then remembered her mother's words,

"Caitrin, do you have fun while we play together?"

"Yes, mama!"

"That is wonderful to hear! But there is a thing that I have to tell you. Can you listen to me for a moment?"

"What is it, mom?"

"Even though we're playing games with you right now, you know there's gonna be a day when we will be far away from each other, right?"

"But mom, why do I have to leave you?"

"Of course, you don't need to. But what you have to remember is that, one day your heart will hurt, just as your knee hurts when you fall. It is not going to be a pain like you fell on your knee, but it will still hurt. So when that day comes, I want you to turn that pain into something good and use it to your advantage. Use it and be happy even when you are sad. Because if you prepare your heart like this, then even your worst fears will be weak againts you and you will get stronger! So don't ever forget that. Okay?"

Caitrin then said to herself, as she held the necklace with a ton of emotions that she carried in her heart,

"Until today, I always thought should I fight or not. Should I chase something. Should I go over and achieve something.

I always thought about If I can do them. And back then, I thought I could do it without a fight. I acted according to what I have believed and lived my life on with those rules.

But I was wrong. 

After all this time, I realized that I had to do something. That I should move. That I should talk. That I can't get anything by standing where I was.

And Tatsumi has proved it to me many times. He worked hard with many people, just to achieve his goal. He fought for his dreams. And even if he finally chose something else, he still acted and did something. 

That's why I have finally understood.

That I have no choice but to fight!"

As she stood up, her expression changed into a much more serious one and her eyes shone bright white. She looked scary rather than scared and was holding her sword tightly. She then swung her sword to the left and took a fighting position.

At first, the creatures continued to approach her as they thought they could hit her again. But as they got closer, Caitrin jumped and started to cut the creatures. She was moving at the speed of light and wasn't hesitating or making a mistake a bit.

There was no sign of the previous Caitrin. She fought as if someone who fought flawlessly and was fearless had taken over her body. One by one, she hunted the creatures and helped Chou.

 She then stopped and just stood at the battlefield, putting her sword on its hilt.

And then, when she came to her senses, Caitrin slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Unlike before the creatures that she was fighting, was now lying on the floor. 

This was very confusing for Caitrin.

Who butchered so many creatures? Did she do it by herself? 

She then looked at her necklace with a confused expression and said,

*I don't remember anything. Does that have to do with anything my mom said?*

But as she was thinking like that, she finally realized Chou was struggling to get up and looked at her.

She then said with a nervous expression on her face,

"Aah, I'm sorry! Here!"

She then ran towards her and helped her.

They had slain many creatures and fought all the way long. 

Now it was their turn to rest and wait for the others.