Strangers From Another World 18 Fittoa Valencia Part 2

"Esmeralda!" Joseph called out, and sensing the urgency in his voice, Esmeralda quickly came to him without delay.

However, before they had the chance to jump onto the caravan, a deep monstrous voice cried out at them. "Not so fast!"

They turned around to see that it came from the giant shadow, and as it cried out, the vaguely shaped head on the top of the creature unraveled itself, revealing the face and, more importantly, eyes of Fittoa Valencia. From her eyes glowed a scarlet light, and all those caught staring into her gaze found themselves incapable of moving, all except for Gene, whose magic resistance was stronger than the magic of those eyes. Yet, even so, it's not as if he could just turn tail and run away on his own, leaving Joseph and Alex behind.

This is why I don't want these two here, thought Gene, I was afraid something like this would happen.

Had he been alone, escape would be extremely easy, and even with his left knee crying out in pain, it's not as if it can't move. With a dust bomb here and a smoke bomb there, even with her [Critical Line], Gene was confident that he could out run Fittoa, if he was by himself that is.

"Out of tricks, Gene?"

The giant shadow that is Fittoa approaches and Gene knew that as he is right now, he could not possibly have a glimmer of chance at winning.

Suddenly, a screaming could be heard from the distance, and reflexively, the shadows hid Fittoa's face into its shadowy ma.s.s. Briefly, Gene wondered if she could see through those shadows, and that if she could not, how will the shadow attack? That question was answered almost as soon as it was asked.

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

The screaming came from the young man who wields the enslavement seal. He had fallen unconscious due to the severe beatings he had received from Fittoa, but it seems now he is awake and he's feeling the pain all over again. It wouldn't be at all surprising, from how mercilessly Fittoa kicked and stomped on him, that have had at least a fractured bone or two.

As if reacting to the screaming, the smaller limbs strewn about the giant shadow shot out from the body like harpoons and extended all the way over to the young man, skewering him and pulled him in towards Fittoa. Once more, Fittoa revealed her face, and she looked upon the young man with disappointment.

"It's too bad he died so soon. I would have liked him to suffer a little more." Her eyes then glowed once more with the same sinister green light as she held his body over her. "No matter, his ability will be useful."

As Fittoa was busy with the corpse, Gene began to move, running away may not be viable, but he can't simply sit around either. However, as soon as he took a step, a sudden and sharp pain shot out from his knee, one worse than ever before, and Gene was forced to readjust his balance, resulting in him stomping strongly down on the ground to catch himself from falling. Immediately, the smaller limbs reacted to the sound of his step and shot out towards him and barely was he able to swipe them away with his staff. He was lucky it was only a few that came for him.

"Be careful, Gene," said Fittoa with her eyes still fixed upon the corpse, "I haven't quite gotten a hang on controlling this ability yet and I would much prefer that you stay alive for a little bit longer."

At this distance, Gene knew he wasn't going to get away, that he's not going to be able to move unless he fancy being maimed, which he had no doubt Fittoa would resort to should he try to get away again. And so, Gene turned his eyes towards Joseph and Alex, hoping that he could find something, only to recognize that they are indeed, as he had expected, still frozen. The magic from Fittoa's Mystic Sight of Petrification apparently does not seem to be the kind that wears off, at least not in a short amount of time.

Helplessly, Gene could only wait, unable to move forward or retreat, waiting remains his only options.

With Gene apparently all settled down, Fittoa had her focus back to the corpse, confident in the knowledge that while she does not have full control over the shadows, they will most certainly move to protect her should Gene try anything.

"a.n.a.lyzing material...... a.n.a.lyze complete... Beginning structural breakdown..." Such were the words that floated before Fittoa's vision as she stared fixedly at the corpse.

"... Breaking down... Breakdown complete." And with that, the corpse, in the very next instant, was reduced to a black liquid. From her shadows, Fittoa reached out her own hands, holding them beneath to dark ooze as the liquid drips down towards the ground, gathering some into her hands and then, gladly, she drank the repulsive thing, going so far as to lick what remains off of her fingers once she was done gulping the rest down.

"Mana absorbed...... a.n.a.lyzing mana... a.n.a.lyze complete...... [Gift]: [Mind Domination] acquired."

Fittoa smiled as those words floated across her vision, and once more, she turned towards Gene. At that very moment, what appears to be an egg, Gene's homemade dust bomb, was flung right at her face. However, as Fittoa's face was too high up, the dust bomb was steadily losing momentum as it flew, and as such, would not be able to shatter on impact. Even so, as Fittoa had said before, she does not have proper control over the shadows, and Gene was counting on it.

Fittoa, upon recognizing the dust bomb remembered that pain it brought her, and as if reacting to her distaste for the thing, the smaller limbs shot out towards it, easily shattering the sh.e.l.l and spreading the dust of ash and pepper all over. Gene's hope was that the dust would reach Fittoa, but that hope was immediately dashed. At the same time the shadowy limbs reacted to the dust bomb, the shadows also pulled Fittoa back into itself, completely protecting her against the cloud of dust.

Things did not go as Gene had hoped, but of course, few things in life do. Not to mention, his actions weren't for naught, for he was not one to place all his hopes on a single thing like a certain gambler he knew. As soon as Fittoa had been hidden by the ma.s.s of shadows, Gene tossed his steel staff, sending it high over his head and landing somewhere behind him. As the staff hit the ground, a loud metallic ringing resounded throughout the area, and in reaction to the sound, all of the smaller limbs took aim and all shot out towards where the steel staff had landed.

The shadows, as Gene had observed, were highly sensitive to sound. It seems to be so that even if the user of the ability is completely hidden within the ma.s.s of shadow, and thus be unable to see, the shadows will still be able to determine its targets. Gene was sure, that this [Shadow Form] is most certainly a defensive ability, at least in the way Fittoa was using it. For one, the size is far too big, the mana that must be consumed to move it must be substantial. For two, if this was an effective means of offense, then Fittoa would have surely used it against him during their initial duel and that she clearly didn't, choosing to rely instead on a combination of [Critical Line], [Foresight], and her own skills. More likely than not, this was a final resort for Fittoa, something she'd use at the verge of defeat. If she cannot secure victory with this, then she would be hard-pressed to win any other way. And so, for this final resort, what is the thing she least desire from her opponents? Gene thought back to her actions and the answer was obvious.

With the smaller limbs being distracted by his steel staff, Gene slips pa.s.s the giant shadow right in between its legs. Right about now, he was sure that his staff was being torn apart and for a moment he felt sorry. However, this was not the time to get emotional over a disposable tool. Rushing pa.s.s the giant shadow, Gene quickly grabbed hold of the still petrified Joseph and Alex, and with them tucked under his arms, Gene began to run while dragging them with him.

The things Fittoa wants least to happen, was for them to start running away, that was why she used [Petrification] right after changing into the giant shadow. Her mana would run out in an instant if she were to start chasing after them while using [Shadow Form] and at the same time she could not simply put it away, as summoning it had no doubt have drained a great amount of mana from her, it is highly unlikely that she could fight effectively if she puts the shadows away.

"Gene!" He could hear Fittoa shouting from behind him, her head peeking out of the ma.s.s of shadow to spot.

With Joseph and Alex in tow, Gene was not very fast, and he knew well enough that he's still within her range. The limbs would be coming for him and antic.i.p.ating that, he began gathering his own mana and as soon as he could, deployed a [Shield] at his back, just in time to defend against a barrage of shadowy limbs shooting out towards him.

Then, Gene quickly created another [Shield], this one a bubble place right at his back. With a great among of strength from his legs, Gene leapt off the ground with Joseph and Alex barely in tow, and at the same time, the [Shield] bubble expanded rapidly, propelling Gene forward and sending him flying along with the two in his arms.

With that one trick, Gene got out of Fittoa's effective range in an instant, however, at the same time, he had overshot his own human limits. At the moment of landing, the momentum of his small flight and the weight of having two human beings in tow dislocated his arms immediately, and with the combined weight of all three of them, no matter how well his angle of landing was, is still too much stress for his knees. As a result, Gene collapsed into the ground and lost his grip on both Joseph and Alex, sending all three of them tumbling across the ground, all became terribly injured.

Joseph and Alex were still petrified, and Gene could no longer move his legs or his arms. Seeing this, Fittoa dispelled her shadows and calmly walked over to the three. Reaching down, Fittoa pulled Gene up from the ground and looked him in the eyes.

"All that effort and this is how you end up," she said, her eyes filled with pity. "There's plenty who could have carried twice your weight and made it out just fine you know, both the people of this world and the Strangers who had came into this world, either with magic or physical strength, they could have done what you just did with ease. Compared to them, we're so fragile, you and I."

Gene was still conscious despite his pain, but he did not reply her. Fittoa didn't mind though, and she wanted to keep talking. It's been a while since there's someone who is completely in her power, yet would calmly listen to her instead of spitting curses and threats at her.

"You know, the one I got the shadows from, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had a stupidly large amount of mana at his disposal and could move that ma.s.sive thing with ease. Meanwhile, I struggle to even make it walk. You really did force my hand for me to use that [Gift]. I couldn't have beaten you otherwise. Your training and hard work had made you very strong, Gene. Yet, here you lay, broken, your arms and legs never going to be the same ever again. To any other person in this world, such a degree of injury could be easily fixed with healing magic, but for you, that wouldn't work, would it? What you spent years for, the skills you painstakingly honed, gone in just an instant. Meanwhile, there are those that can easily acquire your level of skill in the same amount of time you took to lose them."

Gene remained silent, letting Fittoa talk as he listens, his eyes fixated on her as he tries to gauge the emotions behind her words, trying to find a key to this person that is Fittoa Valencia.

"Gene, you can't tell me you're not the least bit frustrated, that you're not the least bit envious. There are those that can walk freely and do as they please upon this world the moment they arrive, yet you and I, here we are in spite of everything we did, in spite of all the suffering we endured, we're left in the dirt as if we don't matter!"

Gene sighed heavily, his eyes casted to the side as he think of the words he'll say to her, taking a moment before retuning his gaze toward Fittoa.

"You're not wrong, Fittoa, we're certainly not as well off as we could be. However, I cannot sympathize with you. When I came into this world, I did not come alone, someone was by my side. Then, a kind-hearted person took me in, asking absolute nothing in return, nothing at all... I've had great teachers to teach me everything I needed to know, hammering knowledge into my dimwitted self, a task that surely took great patience. I made friends helping me along the way, lending a hand whenever I'm lost. I may not have everything, Fittoa, but I was fortunate, more so than many others, surely more so than you. My [Gift] may not be spectacular, even detrimental at times, but the gifts that have been so freely given to me were more than I could ever return. So I am afraid that I not like you, Fittoa, you poor thing."

Fittoa was silent, her face expressing severe disappointment. At length, she sighed. Then, she began gathering her mana into her hand, and upon her palm, an enslavement seal was formed.

"Gene, I really thought that we were the same, that you'd understand... But, if you will not align with me willingly, then I have other plans."

With the seal, she pressed her hand against Gene's chest. The seal burning into his skin, binding his body to its nefarious magic, but as soon as Gene's magic resistance begins to take effect, the seal was erased and not a mark remained.

"As expected, the seal is not powerful enough to go against your magic resistance. I was hoping that it would work too. And once we have the Oracle's eyes, you, Alex, and I, and maybe even Joseph could go on the run together again, that'd be fun, I think. It's really a shame that the seal doesn't work on you. Well, I tried. Guess I'm going to have to kill you after all"

"Indeed..." said Gene, "I suppose it could be fun, to go on an adventurer again like the old times. Perhaps... perhaps in another life, Fittoa."

"Yes, perhaps. Goodbye, Gene, it was enjoyable while it lasted, I suppose."

Fittoa raises her dagger, aiming for the throat, planning to end the Sword Saint's suffering as soon as possible.

And with a flash of silver, blood spilled into the air like red petals blown in the wind, fluttering beneath the moonlight briefly before hitting the ground and staining it red. Gene's limp body fell towards the cold stony earth, stopping only by a gauntleted hand that had caught his collar.

"What took you so long, vice commander?"

From above descended a dark haired woman enveloped in steel, and with a swift swing, she severed Fittoa's arm just before it was able to drive the dagger into Gene's throat.

"Impossible!" Fittoa cried as she pulled back, holding onto her bleeding arm, trying to apply pressure to her wound. "Why? You were supposed to be guarding the Oracle!" she said as she endured her pain, trying to grasp the situation even as blood drains from her body.

"And I still am," said the vice commander, smiling with a calm confidence that seems to say that everything will be fine now that she's here.

Silently walking up from behind the vice commander, a blindfolded woman wearing a black robe appeared.

"Sorry we're late, I got held get getting the permits to leave the city you see," she said. "Seriously, why must I be subjected to such nuisance just to leave the confines of the walls?"

"That is because you're the Oracle, milady," replied the vice commander, "You're important to not just the Administration, but everyone in the kingdom."

"I know that, Isolde. I asked that question not because I required an answer, but only so that I may have the pleasure of asking it. It was, as they called it, a rhetorical question."

The vice commander only shrugged at the lengthy clarification. Apparently the Oracle was bothered by the fact that someone had called her out for her inept.i.tude to properly explain herself.

The vice commander turned nonchalantly towards Fittoa, raising her sword and pointing it at the Sight Jacker. "Now then, let's end this in a jiffy, what do you say?"

***

End of Chapter 18