Chapter Two: Lock on

In the early hours before Mikaela's fall, a group of ten women clad in black coats sprinted towards his position with unwavering speed. These were the same women who had been relentlessly pursuing Mikaela all along.

One of the women knelt down, her hand touching the ground as she scanned for his current location. Once she found it, she pointed in the direction where he was, roughly a hundred miles away. "He's over there, about a hundred miles from our position," she relayed to the others. Another girl among the chasers, named Priscilla, complained about their long chase. "Damn that enhancement pill that Lady Ayaka gave him. It's too powerful. We've been chasing him nonstop for the past ten days. I'm hungry."

"Calm down, Priscilla. The hunt is about to come to an end," said Roder, the oldest member of the group. "The pill is already losing its effect," added the scout. Barshita, the most aggressive member of the group, pushed her way to the front, brandishing her bow and arrow. "Nice. If it's losing its effect already, then..." she trailed off, drawing her bowstring taut and taking a deep breath to enhance her concentration. With this heightened focus, she could see exactly where Mikaela was. "Lock...on," she whispered as she released the arrow towards his position. The arrow moved with incredible speed, skillfully avoiding any obstacles until it hit its target.

"Lock on" was one of Barshita's abilities, allowing her to view her target's position within a range of 10,000 miles and hit a specific spot on their body with ease. Once fired, the arrow became so fast that it partially broke the wind barrier, ensuring it reached its intended target. However, just as the arrow was about to strike Mikaela's head, it was blocked by a strange green aura that surrounded him, only managing to graze his cheek.

"Tch, I missed," Barshita cursed at herself for failing to hit her target. Roder noticed her frustration and tried to encourage her. "You didn't miss. He was saved because of the pill's effect," she said. "But with this, the effect of the pill has finally worn off," she added, smiling maliciously.

"Ah, he fell," Barshita exclaimed, her shock evident as she witnessed the sudden turn of events. Using the trees to boost her jump, she leaped high into the sky, determined not to miss her target. "This time, I'm not going to miss," she declared, activating her second ability called Light Spare, which was linked to her first one, Lock On.

Fiola called out, trying to stop Barshita. "Wait, Bar—"

"No way, bitch. He's all mine now, hahahaha!" Barshita laughed, launching the spare towards the spot where he had fallen, leading us to our current location—the bottomless pit.

"Do you think he's dead?" Pricilla asked anxiously.

"I'm not sure," Roder replied, annoyance evident in her gaze as he watched Barshita.

"Then let me check," Barshita insisted.

"Wait, fool," Fiola stopped her. "Do you know whose territory this is?" She wore an expression that conveyed her fear of the place.

"Whose territory is this that has you looking like that?" Barshita inquired curiously.

"This is the witch of thorns' territory. Unless you want to die, you should stay away from there," Roder responded solemnly. "Witch of thorns. Sounds menacing," Pricilla muttered nervously, sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the area.

"So, what do we do now, Lady Roder?" the scout asked.

"We fall back for now and send a message to the mistress," Roder ordered. "Yes, ma'am," they all replied in unison before disappearing.

The end.