Hunter

It was as though he vanished in an instant. His mana slipped from my aura, his presence dissolving, like he'd simply blinked out of existence. Dally... was he always this fast?

I glanced back at Caelum, expecting some reaction, some sign of frustration. But he looked unfazed, pausing mid-step as if weighing a puzzle only he could see.

We dropped from the dense trees, landing lightly on the forest floor.

I watched as he extended his hand, opening and closing it a few times with slow, deliberate movements—a barely hidden frustration edging his gestures.

"No good," he muttered with a sigh. "Just outside my reach. Think he might've teleported?"

"Maybe," I replied, shaking my head. "It felt like he was here… then gone."

He sighed again, scratching the back of his head. "So, we've got two options. Chase him down now, or stick to the original plan and wait him out. Up to you."

I didn't hesitate. "We need to track him down. Who knows what else he could encounter out there? That puppet we fought was strong… maybe even stronger than the both of us together."

That was the line I wanted to say out loud, though I kept the truth to myself. I could have stopped it, but... something held me back.

I couldn't pinpoint the reason, a strange feeling that froze me in place.

But there was no chance I'd admit that. I had a reputation to uphold—Priestess of War, Solavane. Besides, Caelum wouldn't catch the lie.

He always seemed lost in his own world, a quiet madness beneath that calm exterior.

And I wasn't about to risk him digging deeper.

Still, the thought nagged at me.

He's protected, I reminded myself. Protected by a power even I'd have difficulty challenging.

Aubrey... One of the few capable of slaying a beast of that caliber without a card.

They say she died fighting Nucun; that battle ended in a draw.

Yet she'd cared for someone so deeply she'd shield him even beyond death.

Her protection, wasted on a madman, I thought bitterly. Or perhaps, it's exactly what Caelum needs.

"Well," Caelum sighed, "I guess we'd better move. He's somewhere beyond my range, probably near the coast by now."

I nodded, glancing up at the sky, still unsettled. "Tell me, Caelum… for a moment, did you feel it? A divine presence?"

He shook his head slightly, adjusting his blindfold where it had slipped.

Then he turned and started walking again.

I paused, watching his back as he moved forward, his pace steady, before following him. Caelum was powerful, but he knew so little about this world.

A week of teaching him mana theory and control, and while he learned fast, he seemed to progress slower than others his age and strength.

Cards were meant to connect us to our innermost selves, I reflected.

Every breakthrough, every completed task tied to a card unlocks more power. Mana, however, dictated how much we could wield at any given moment. But Caelum was… different.

When he used magic, it was unsettlingly calm. Almost natural.

As if he replaced mana with something more intrinsic—life energy itself.

That weakened his spells; mana was needed to break the natural laws of this world, but he… abided by those laws. Just like Dally once did.

I shook my head. Damn puppets.

They'd started cropping up after the Dankel War, appearing occasionally.

Recently, though, their numbers had surged. Caelum's arrival isn't just a coincidence; the timing is too perfect.

As we moved through the dense woods, the trees gradually thinned, giving way to an open expanse.

We reached a clearing, and a small village lay faintly in the distance, maybe a thousand or so kilometers away. We stopped, the air tense, both of us instinctively scanning our surroundings.

A chill rippled through me as a familiar aura brushed against my senses. I turned to Caelum, my voice low. "We may need to fight… I sense someone powerful nearby. A familiar presence."

Caelum shrugged, his expression indifferent as he dismissed my warning. "I don't love anyone, Solavane. I'm just here to finish my own work," he murmured, almost to himself, as though the words mattered to him alone.

As if summoned by his calm indifference, she emerged from the shadowed edge of the clearing—Rita.

Golden hair cascaded around her face, her dark eyes narrowed and intent as she strode forward with purpose.

Sunlight glinted off her light golden armor, casting a soft sheen over her fawn skin.

She looked deceptively delicate in her fitted blue pants, but the long, lethal blade she held in one hand made her intentions clear.

She was here to hunt, and her prey was me.

Rita's eyes moved between Caelum and me, her lips curling into an amused smirk. "Oh, I thought you'd be alone, Solavane." Her gaze lingered on Caelum, sizing him up dismissively. "And who's this? He seems… weak."

Caelum's face remained impassive, barely acknowledging the insult. He stood at my side, unreadable.

I let out a sigh, more weary than wary. "Rita, I don't have time for this right now."

She arched an eyebrow, her voice mocking. "Time? I don't care if you have all the time in the world, Solavane. I'm here to kill you."

A flicker of frustration tightened my chest, the memory of three years' worth of near-escapes playing at the edge of my mind.

She'd hunted me relentlessly, her drive as fierce and consuming as ever. Three years on the run, and still, she was here.

"Rita," I said, forcing calm into my voice. "Is this vendetta really worth your life?"

But before she could respond, Caelum vanished and reappeared, now standing behind her as if he had materialized from thin air. His hand rested casually on her shoulder.

"Hey," he murmured, his tone deceptively mild. "I don't like the way you're looking at us."

In a single motion, he moved, gripping her shoulder and flinging her into the air with startling force.

Rita twisted midair, her movements fluid, but Caelum was already prepared.

A single rose petal appeared between his fingers, and with a flick, he sent it spiraling towards her.

The petal burst into a thick, toxic cloud, engulfing her in a deadly, swirling haze.

Impressive, I thought, though I knew all too well that Rita wasn't easily defeated.

The air thickened, crackling with tension as I braced myself. Rita's voice cut through the cloud, sharp and resolute. "Star Light… Cleave!"

A blinding wave of light erupted from within the cloud, its speed absolute, ripping through the poisonous mist and dispersing it in all directions.

Caelum's eyes widened. In an instant, he vanished, swapping places with a tree at the edge of the clearing to avoid the onslaught.

Caelum… I felt a pang of concern.

Could he still be bound by the mortal shackles of restraint? Has he not broken free of them yet?

Rita descended from the haze, her eyes glowing with a fierce golden light.

She landed with predatory grace, her gaze trained on me as she raised her blade. "So, Solavane, is this really the best you can muster? A man still bound by mortal shackles?"

I glanced back at Caelum, who looked taken aback by her power.

His restraint, his hesitance—it made him seem almost… mortal, as if he were still tethered to laws that most of us had long since broken.

Sighing, I held out my hand, and with a soft hum, my odachi appeared, heavy and familiar in my grip. I slung it onto my shoulder, meeting her fierce gaze.

"Rita, this time, I'm going to make sure you don't walk away from this."

Her smile sharpened as she raised her own blade in challenge, her voice dripping with venom. "This is the final hunt, Solavane. This time, I'll make sure you don't escape my grasp… murderer."