Part III

He turned back to look at Anna, who'd distanced herself from him. She was willing to use her body as a cocoon to protect her son, and she'd do so without second thoughts. He was about to pull out the sword from his back when Artemis had already done so before him.

She recalled a secret of the beastman. The first thing she noted in the parchment Orion left behind. To kill a beastman, she had to aim for the neck.

The bleeding foxman's breath escaped in puffs. A wretched-stained grin split his lips as he swung his war hammer towards Artemis with the novice dexterity of his left hand. Artemis stalled the hit with his blade, then backed away. 

He was healing, and the hilt of his sword was overheating. It didn't belong to her. She had little time to use the heavy enchanted sword to kill him before it would consume her hands.

"Maybe once I'm done killing that slut over there, I'll use you to replace her." He throatily crooned. 

His facial expression went stiff once he noticed they took his hand from the spot it was in. And Anna had fled with her son.

He clicked his tongue at her cowardliness, then switched his gaze back to Artemis that was closing in on him. The gloves covering her hands were burning, and the iris at the crest of the sword turned to look at the intruder. The odd eyeball made shivers run down her spine, and the hairs of her body erected under her layers of clothes.

She swung the sword but stopped halfway. Once he dodged the fake attack, he realised he'd walked into her trap. She lunged the sword at his throat, pushing it through until it jabbed out from the opposite side. She gave him an uppercut that nearly broke her fingers, and he fell backwards.

She looked at her scalded hands through the burnt opening of her mittens, then switched her gaze to the beastman that was struggling to get back on his feet. A sense of agitating fear gripped her, and she moved towards him, thrusting her knee into his face. She pulled the sword out, then jabbed his neck again with the edge. Again, and again, until she was certain he had stopped moving.

She sat astride his chest, gaze fixed at his face devoid of life. A smile appeared on her face as she stood. She didn't want to celebrate too much because of another thing she'd found out. Beastmen's powers were limited on earth. 

Strength dominated magic in her world. That was probably why she won so easily against the clan that was rumoured to be the second strongest in Sol. Anna's master must've been a pure magic user, and not strength. Maybe he wasn't good with any, or he tried to balance both like Orion did. 

The fact remained that if she battled him alone, and if the fight happened in a magic presiding world like Sol or Arix, her chances of surviving were very narrow.

She wished she could read stats without the help of an Olth, but no one but beastmen could do that. 

He must've read hers, that's why he looked down on her too much. The girl made assumptions of his magic metre, and it made her envious. She couldn't wait to retrieve Orion's grandfather's book of enchantments and skills.

She left the corpse there, and made a bealine for the village, following the footsteps of Anna and Rowan.

*** 

Ma Lari used some extra health potions she'd gotten from a spell caster that inherited the medic abilities. She rubbed some sticky transparent liquid on Anna's injured neck and shoulder. The wounds were deep, but there was nothing the potions couldn't heal.

Her eyes closed shortly after Ma Lari applied it, then the old lady turned her attention to the boy. She was angry with him, but she didn't want to scold.

"Old lady!" Ma Lari loathed when he addressed her that way because of the countless times she taught him her actual name.

His eyes brimmed, and he held her hands, seeking emotional support "Bertha is still out there. I was trying to tell mum, but she didn't believe me because she thought I wanted to run away again. I swear, they aren't in the next town. They stopped halfway!" 

Through those lucid green eyes, Ma Lari could peruse the genuineness behind those tears. Her Bertha was out there in the cold. Where were her parents? She didn't want to think negatively, and she didn't want to remind the boy of what else he'd seen at the scene of the accident.

"Would you still remember the place?" He shook his head. The snow had covered the road path, and another layer of snow must have topped the remains of his footprints. Ma Lari and Rowan were worried sick about the present state of the little girl.

She thought they were taking shelter at the next town because of the snowstorm. She didn't expect the widespread snowfall to catch up with them because they left early.

The door yanked open and Artemis came in, "Are you both okay?!" Rowan ran towards her "Big sis!" 

She crouched to his height, wondering what else was wrong. She didn't understand what was going on, but she was glad they were both safe. 

"Bertha is somewhere out there. Let's go get her!" Artemis shook her head then ran her hands through his hair "You have to stay with your mom. I'll look for her!" 

Artemis's fear and worries were hidden behind her calm face. She heard she'd gone to the next town with her parents and she wondered how she ended up being alone. 

She had a lot of questions to ask. How did the beastman find them and what were they doing out there in the storm? 

She was just lucky to have found them. She couldn't easily perceive the radiation from the distance between them all. Maybe he didn't conceal his magic, or maybe the aura wasn't from him.

She could feel the emission of heat from the little boy. Did his powers awaken? 

Ma Lari pat Artemis's back, "Please find Bertha. We have a lot to discuss when you get back" The old lady was sick with worry, and so was Rowan. His teeth tugged at his lower lip as scary thoughts looped around in his mind until there was no room for anything else.