In the rapid crowd of people passing us, the little barklight's wings flapped all the faster as she smiled brightly at me. It was like looking at the sun which made me glance away. Her small fingers tugged at my blade again, and it caused me to pull back.
"Ah, what are you doing?"
I asked.
"This sword you have it's something else."
The barklight admired as she reached out again to tug it once more.
I pulled to the side, causing her to stumble.
"Ah, sorry."
Thankfully, I reached out my hand and grabbed her by the shoulder before she could stumble and fall on her face. She was warm, and it caused me to let go. It's been a while since I felt someone else's touch like that.
"It's a dangerous weapon. You shouldn't be grabbing people's things."
Trying to be an adult here, scolding her with my finger. I reminded myself of how the mothers would do the same back in the orphanage.
Slightly annoyed, I turned around and made my way towards the city's west gates, where I live. For the month, I've had my fair share of dealing with people, and I was beyond exhaustion. I just wanted to go back home, cook my dinner, and read a book by a fire in my blankets…
"Hold up, redhead! How much is it?!"
The backlight screamed my way.
"Hm?"
Strangely enough, this small barklight girl flew up to me like a flea. Her wings were so massive compared to her small stature that they looked unnatural. The barklight's eyes were like golden gems as they shined and marveled at my weapon.
"It's not for sale, little girl."
She kicked in the air like a baby, throwing a tantrum. Shoppers gave her mean glares as they passed. Probably because she was slapping them with her wings.
"Everything's for sale! Come on, what's your price, girl?"
She tugged on the blade again as if it was already hers. I didn't want to attract attention, so I leaned away from her, trying to escape the situation.
"Listen, I have to be somewhere. So, go play with cats or something."
I waved her away, shooing her like a stray dog.
But she puffed out her cheeks and landed next to me. She was small enough that I had to look down on her, we faced one another. Our height difference made me feel bad for her. I guessed she had to be around twelve or thirteen.
"I'm not a dumb kid! My big sister has been looking for artifacts like this! She'd be happy if I brought it to her."
Again, she tugged on my weapon but this time I was a little more forceful and pushed her hand away.
"Now hurry up and tell me, how much, how much?!"
She demanded as she stumped on the ground.
The barklight's screaming was causing the locals to stare at us. I looked about the area to gauge if there were any shadows I could escape into. But the sun was too bright, the ground was shining, and I had no escape from her. Annoyed, I looked back at the brat.
"Well, sorry to tell you, but this blade is important to me. It's also too dangerous for someone of your… ah, age to be handling."
Again, I attempted to leave her when she grabbed my wrist. The sudden motion caused me to drop my bag of tomatoes and oil.
"Get it with, Feodora!"
Embarrassed as I rushed to pick up my groceries. I looked around to make sure nobody was laughing at me and turned back to the culprit.
"I will give you ten-thousand gold for that weapon!"
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I was haggling for a few golds only minutes ago, and this girl was offering me that much? A normal day at the store would run a reasonable girl like me around a hundred gold to keep me going for the week.
Around four-hundred gold is probably a good rate for weekly groceries. It's sensible to say many people don't see numbers like ten-thousand gold for the common folk.
"Eh…"
I was skeptical. My trust in people has waned all the more.
"Sorry, but I can't give you this sword no matter how much you want it."
She shrugged her small shoulders in seeming defeat.
"Oh, well…"
The barklight gave up, dejectedly. I turned around to head back to the gates, done with that ordeal.
"Eh?!"
I tripped on a rock, and my body tumbled face-first into the ground. Luckily, my groceries broke my fall, effectively squashing two of the tomatoes in my bag. Some of the sauces dyed the golden cobblestone street an off-green.
"Ah, dang it…"
I rubbed the sauce off my jacket. I wanted to cry, but I stood strong, feeling a tad lighter on my hip.
"What the?!"
My sword was gone, and the golden-haired fairy was flying away. The smile on barklight's smug face only aimed to make me angry. The thief was flying towards where I entered the city from.
"Wait, come back here, you little thief!"
Seemingly appalled by my accusation, she pointed towards me.
"I'm not a thief! I tossed the gold next to you!"
Littered at my feet was a lot of gold. It wasn't the ten-thousand gold the barklight promised, but it was a hefty amount.
"Money! Everyone, there's money!"
A merchant pointed at the cash littered on the golden ground.
"H-hey?!"
Shopkeepers and customers dived at my cash as they picked up the gold around me. At my feet, like rats, they all swarmed on the ground, picking up my money. The gold shined off the sun, making the shopping district look all the richer.
"T-That's my money!"
Even though I didn't want it, they still stole from me. Annoyed, I rushed out of the crowd and started racing after her. She was flying in the sky, as happy as a bumblebee, but I was fast on her tail as I weaved my way through the crowded streets.
I rushed back through that alleyway, and when I came out, I reached a clearing. I called out to her.
"Hey, get back here!"
"Wow, you're persistent. You won't leave me alone, will you?"
The barklight snapped her fingers. Her hands shined a remarkable color of bronze as she spun in the air in excitement. It was stronger than a normal vessel's earth spell.
"That's earth spectrum. So, she's an earth vessel."
I concluded what I was up against. This barklight was likely an earth vessel user. She soared in the sky as we reached a circular clearing with stores like the bakery from before we faced one another.
The barklight swooped down, occasionally touching the fountain in the center. The day was bright, and it was hard to focus on her as she moved around.
"Huh?"
A tremor ensued.
My legs shook along with the stores and homes nearby. A massive rock, around sixteen feet tall, protruded from the ground. Its body was round and gold but had jagged arms made of rock that lay on the ground next to it. Its legs were slightly shorter, and in the center of its body, a single bright purple eye looked about the area.
"What the heck?!"
A man screamed from behind me. Kids began running away, and bystanders flooded inside for safety as the massive creature stood in my way.
"Tsk, are you serious?!"
"Golem, break her!"
The child screamed in excitement. I never expected someone to be able to use their spectrum to create living beings.
She cackled from above, kicking her small feet about as she floated in the air. The child flew over the triangle-shaped roofs as she was having fun.
"Break her legs, rip off her arms, just get her away from me!"
She commanded as she pointed at me. Despite how heavy it must have been, it effortlessly stomped towards me. The world shook with every step. Reflexively, I took my unarmed stance. Maxwell beat me a lot during my training, and this was the time to use it.
The golem lifted its arms, ready to pound me. I dodged. The rock beast wide arms smashed into the streets.
My blood boiled as I channeled spectrum into my fist.
"He!"
Rock shattered from the golem as my fist decimated one arm. It tumbled backwards as I swung again, blasting the rock beast up on one leg.
"Ha!"
I intensified my blow, channeling more spectrum in my body. I jumped and swung both my arms into its large head, sending the golem to the ground.
The earth shook and buildings waved like water. Small shops broke apart from the sudden wave of dark energy. People took cover as the infrastructure trembled from my spectrum.
"Eh? I need to calm down."
I scolded my recklessness.
I wasn't in the forest anymore and I could hurt someone if I went all out with my abilities. As the beast was on the ground, I looked up at the fairy, flying about.
"Give me my katana, you little-!"
I raised my fist as I rushed to her. A large stalagmite erupted from the ground nearby and attempted to pierce me. I dodged. Ran on the spike jetting from the earth and jumped off the rock formation towards the thief.
"Oh no!"
The barklight raised her hand against me.
Before I could connect my fist to her face, an earth wall towered in front of her like a shield.
Darkness engulfed my knuckles, and I slammed through the wall, nearly punching the thief square in the face but she escaped. She flew away as I fell to the ground.
"That's it, no more games, kid!"
I slid my leg into a stance and conjured spectrum into my body.
"Se!"
With an arced kick I sent the black shockwave to the flea in the sky.
"Wah?!"
She dodged in a panic. My attack missed but I wasn't aiming directly at her. The pressure and wind from attack sent her falling on top of a building.
The barklight tumbled on the roof in a daze. She screamed to the top of her lungs in frustration.
"Golem! Hurry up, crush her! Make her crippled! Show her that disobeying me was the last thing she should have done!"
Manically, the sadistic child laughed as if this was all a game. The golem reanimated at her command.
But this time, I was ready. I cut my leg back once more, channeled the spectrum I had into my fist, and waited for the chance to strike.
The golem jumped in the air my way, casting its large body's shadow over me.
"Got to try harder than that!"
I used its shadow to melt into the shadows. Its large body slammed on the cobblestone. The world shook, destroying the area around it. From a nearby canopy of the bakery, I emerged unharmed.
I watched as the golem lay there, hopelessly. The purple eye was exposed as it looked at me. Taking the chance to finish this, I vanished.
The blood in my body pulsed as I channeled everything into it. I appeared next to the golem in an instant.
"Ha!"
I thrust my fist into its eye. As my hand broke through, it felt like sand. The darkness of the hole I made expanded by my dark spell. The outside of its body began to crack as purple energy expanded inside it.
"Scatter!"
I commanded my spell.
The golem's head exploded with a shockwave, and the area shook like an earthquake. Its large chunks destroyed streetlights and even tore out the top of the beautiful fountain I admired earlier.
"Oh my gosh! Golem!"
The barklight screamed.
She began kicking her feet around in frustration. Wildly, the golden thief started hitting my sword against a wooden building's roof in a childish rage. That irritated me, she needed to be disciplined.
"Do you know how long that golem took to make, redhead?! Oh, I'm furious now."
She glided around, casting her shadow across the ground. In the direct sun, she made one fatal mistake.
"Alright, here I go."
I whispered as I rushed into the canopy again.
My body faded into the shadows. I connected with the dark places around me and melted my form accordingly.
"Ehhh? Where did she go?!"
Confused, the kid kicked around in the sky, looking for me. But little did she know I found a perfect place to emerge…
From the shadow that she created, she was in my line of sight.
"Ha!"
With an uppercut, I struck her from below.
I punched her, a critical strike. The barklight's eyes widened, and I saw her iris roll behind her head.
As much as I didn't want to hurt her, she needed to be punished.
"Ah."
The kid toppled onto a triangle-shaped rooftop as my dark blade spun in the air. I reacted by guiding my body over, catching hold of it, and landing on my feet.
I nearly fell over, but luck was on my side, and I nailed the landing.
"Back where you belong, Maxwell."
I heard the sound of a large object bouncing around from above. Red tiles were falling around me. I looked up towards the roof and knew what that was.
"Oh no!"
I ran over, and saw her small body fly off the edge of the building. I jumped for her and caught her in my arms. We rolled together before I could come to a stop.
As I held her fragile body, I felt all the more guilty that I slammed my fist into her stomach. She was small as she fit in my arms like a doll. Business owners and bystanders circled around us.
"Wow, she did it."
They curiously looked at me. The longer I stayed in this crowd of onlookers, the more insecure I became. Voices rose from the group in awe. They cheered remarkably, to my surprise.
"It's about time someone taught Lana Pasco a lesson!"
"Yeah! The Pasco family have been acting out, like they run this place for years! Way to go, redhead!"
Everyone cheered. Well, not everyone. The owners of the business nearby were pissed, to say the least.
"Go girl, go!"
My sudden fans were getting to me. I just wanted to go home and make fried green tomatoes. Gently, I put the dazed barklight on the cobblestone ground.
"Ah, stay here, okay?"
I raced over, grabbed my grocery bag in hand, and returned to the fallen child. She was dizzy still and it started to worry me if she'd snap out of it.
"I didn't use much strength. S-She'll be fine, right?"
I murmured as I bent down and placed a muffin in her warm hands.
"It's cinnamon. I don't like cinnamon… it hurts my nose."
I wasn't sure why I was explaining this to a knocked-out child, but there I was. Neatly, I tucked it under her hand and organized her fingers to grip it. The muffin fell out, though. So, I put it back on her palm, silently hoping it would stay this time.
"Break it up! Break it up."
Heavy footsteps started to come in the battlefield. Knights in those white uniforms and dark blue pants gathered in the area.
"The knights are here, everyone! Give them room to get through."
The people shouted.
"Oh no… I don't want to be a part of this."
I panicked.
The alarm bells were going through my head. First, I'd be questioned, then I'd be held in jail. Then… I'd have to deal more with people!
My anxiety was getting the best of me today. I held onto my grocery bag, put my hand on the shadow of the nearby store, and melted away before any knights could see me.
"Wow… that took a lot out of me."
There was a limit to shadow-walking. The furthest I could use this was quite a distance, but it cost a lot of spectrum magic. Then, there would be a brief time before I could use it again. It was always harder to move around on bright days like this.
That's why I would only move at night. But most shops were closed at those hours, and I craved fried green tomatoes. In the distance, I could still hear the knights fixing up the scene. It wasn't my problem anymore.
"Okay, time to make fried green tomatoes."
"Hold it!"
I jolted at the aggressive voice directed at me from behind. The woman's beauty was breathtaking when I met eyes with her. With eyes that looked like burnt brass, she wore a purple cross-pattern tank top that curved out her body flawlessly.
Her stomach was showing, and a pink belt wrapped around her hips. Her skirt fell just above her knees, sharing the same pattern as her top half. With sharp grey and white boots, one could see that she was worlds different than most.
She approached, and with every click of her shoes, the world around us ceased as if a carpet was rolled out for her. Hooked to the back of her skirt, she took out a dark red blade and approached me with it in her hand.
"State your name and occupation before I run my sword through you and force it out."