So Close/ So Far

"We're getting closer!", Felix said as we were nearing our destination.

We hadn't stopped for anything and Nasty led us straight to where we were headed.

"It's that factory", I said to myself.

This is where Deli's car was when I found it. But she was nowhere to be found near it. And now Nasty had led us back to that place.

"Seraph, look!"

I noticed two figures in the distance, standing something like 30 feet apart from each other. The same car that should have been idly standing by in that vast empty ground was some ways away, toppled over and crumpled up like paper.

"Deli!", I identified one of the figures but the second one, a man, was completely unknown to me. It was clear to me that the two were engaged in battle.

"Hold on, Seraph", Felix stopped me before I could dash towards her.

I looked at him questioningly and rather annoyed.

"There's a bounded field in the area. You can't cross through to her", somehow there was some new crap to deal with. Then again, I couldn't have done much even if I was standing right beside her.

"Do you know what to do now, Felix?"

"It isn't impossible to bypass this barrier. But it seems too big. I can't say yet, it will take me a bit of time to completely make our way through this".

"Just get on with it!", I didn't want to wait much longer. It felt like something really bad was about to happen.

Felix went up and drew a circle on the ground. I assumed he was performing some sort of barrier ritual to undo the field. Since I did not have any potential for magic, I had never had any interest in it either. I didn't bother to look at Felix as he was doing what he had to do.

Nasty was really calm as well. Of course, I didn't like the idea of things as they were, but for now, I was a lot more focused on Deli.

She seemed to have engaged in some sort of vicious duel with that man. The dust clouds that rose subsequently, blocked most of my vision but I could almost feel the Earth shaking, every time either of them pounded the other into the ground. And it sounded like an avalanche. The whole thing indeed, was no less than an earthquake and I wasn't too sure for a moment if what I'd seen was in fact Deli.

"Felix, how much longer?"

I was growing impatient.

"Hey boy, what are you doing?"

"We're trying to-"

I immediately looked around to find Sight. And baguette.

"Sight?!", he was looking as casual as ever, "Where did you disappear off to?"

"Hmm? Where, huh?", he delved into a realm of thought, chomping down on baguette in the meantime.

"Sight!", I felt I needed to remind him of the gravity of this situation.

"You sure are loud all the time, boy. Well, looks like you're trying to get through here, huh?", he finally turned towards the barrier.

He walked closer to it and then looked at Felix.

"Don't worry, young boys!", he said cheerfully before pressing his hand against the barrier.

In a matter of seconds, the barrier was dispelled.

"Amazing!", I couldn't help but say that seeing how easy he made it look.

Sight then began observing his hand, he had used to dispel the barrier. I decided to save complements for later and hurriedly made my way towards Deli.

Before I could get any closer, the ground shook and we froze in our places.

"The hell was that...?"

The air was still as if time had stopped. A pressure built around us as if the air had gotten extra heavy. And I could feel a slight heat. We dare not move though. All three of us remained still, clueless as to what was going on. I think I heard a vague distant sound before I was grabbed by Felix.

"Seraph, get back!", he shouted before running toward me.

I think Felix grabbed my arm before we were all thrown away by an enormous explosion. I know I called Deli before my world went dark.