Strangers From Another World 19 The Envious One

A glint of scarlet light shot out from Fittoa's eyes, it was the light of the Mystic Sight of Petrification, one capable of sealing the ability to move from anyone unfortunate enough to gaze into this light. The effect lasts only till the holder of the sight releases it herself, only then, no sooner, no later.

Fittoa stumbles towards the vice commander, sure of her victory. All that is left is to deal with the blindfolded Oracle.

"Fittoa, that's enough, you'll bleed to death at this rate!" said Gene, still held up by his collar.

"Shut up! The Oracle is right in front of me! How could you expect me to stop! I'll take those eyes from her, and then I'll keep taking some more! Only when I have everything will I stop."

"Such a sad little thing you are."

Fittoa stopped in her tracks, her face pale, either from shock or blood loss.

"How is it possible?" she muttered.

"How? Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm immune to magic," said the vice commander. "Though, I can still cast magic perfectly without issues, unlike Gene. And healing magic works perfectly fine on me as well. It's a selective immunity which blocks only magic that could harm me."

"That's ridiculous... Did the vice commander have such a [Gift]? That wasn't what I heard at all."

"It's no [Gift] Fittoa," said Gene, "The vice commander here merely developed it on her own. She trained it, I suppose you could say."

"I can't quite explain the specifics in one sitting, but there's a lot of meditation involved," said the vice commander with a shrug.

"You're joking..." Fittoa was getting paler by the second. "That's the biggest bulls.h.i.t I've heard all day!"

Suddenly, Fittoa felt her head becoming very light and the world began spinning around her. Before she realized it, her knees had already hit the ground and even then, she struggled to remain upright. She had lost too much blood.

"Well, I suppose that's that," said the Oracle.

Without taking her eyes off Fittoa, the vice commander gently lay Gene on the ground. Meanwhile, the Oracle removes her blindfold, revealing her golden eyes.

"a.n.a.lyzing magic structure..." Such words appeared before her vision. "a.n.a.lysis complete... Deploying countermeasure."

"[Dispel]!"

A burst of magical waves erupted from the Oracle, pa.s.sing through everyone and everything around her. At that moment, Alex felt a comforting sensation, as if having warm water washing over him and before long, he found himself to be able to move again.

"Alex, Joseph, you two doing alright?" Gene asked as he lay on the ground.

"Well, I say the landing could be gentler," said Joseph, "but I see you got it pretty rough yourself."

"Gene..." said Alex, starting down at Gene's arms and legs that are already turning black and blue, "We got in the way, didn't we?"

"You two sure did, but it can't be helped, you only did what you thought should be done," said Gene, his voice gentle and soothing and there was not a single hint of admonishment could be heard in his voice.

"Well, what could I say, we just couldn't leave you behind," said Joseph.

"You shut up, Joseph. What did I tell you? This is what happens when you don't listen to me!"

"Now hold on for a minute, what's with the disparity in treatment here!?"

"It's because you should have known better," said Gene, his tone harsh and filled with blame.

Gene sighed after releasing his anger, letting his body relax and settled into the ground and the cold earth take away some of his pain.

"Ah yes! Gene," the Oracle said suddenly, "the second prince sends his regards."

"You met with him?"

"Yes, it was thanks to him that I got the permits to leave so quickly. He did not say it, but I think he wants you to visit."

"I'll think about it."

"Well, you'll do as you wish as always, I have no say in the matter between you two nor do I intend to get involved."

As the rest speak, the vice commander was determining how to approach Fittoa. Clearly, she could no longer fight, but that does not necessary mean she would submit quietly, and if she is to be taken in, her bleeding will also need to be taken cared of before all else. The question is, however, will Fittoa try anything while she is being treated? This would be so much easier if Gene could move, thought the vice commander.

Cautiously, the vice commander tries to approach, but she was met with a vicious glare. Even though Fittoa seems to be on the verge of losing her consciousness, her ferocity and obvious disdain remains unchanged.

"Fittoa," Gene said to her, "That's enough, just come quietly. You'll find other chances in life so long as you still live."

"Shut up!" Fittoa cried, summoning all of her strength to do so. "Like I said before, Gene, never again will I be put into a cage."

Even as she was shaking, even as the world spins around her, even if her vision is fading, somehow, Fittoa found the strength to stand once more. Filled with animosity, she set her glare upon the vice commander, hating her, hating the stupidity that is this magic immunity she's gained by "training", the very same legendary magic immunity that so many had spent lifetimes to unravel without ever coming close to grasping it.

"You are a distortion upon this wretched world," Fittoa began mumbling, "Even if I die, I'll be sure to drag you down with me."

And then, she began gathering her mana, and though she should have very little left over, she drew them from wherever she could regardless, and when even that is not enough, she compensated it by converting from her own flesh. As a result, her skin and muscles began to tear, and blood bursts from her veins.

"What is she doing?" Alex asked, horrified at the sight.

"She's over-casting," Gene answered, "That's when you don't have enough mana but-"

"No time!" the vice commander cuts him off, "Everyone get back!"

Alex and Joseph quickly scrambled away while the immobile Gene was being carried by the vice commander. The Oracle, meanwhile, was already a long ways ahead, apparently having seen all this coming.

Once more, shadows rise from the ground, enveloping the b.l.o.o.d.y Fittoa, forming the giant shadow once more. Leaving but a single opening for her to peek through, Fittoa immediately aimed her smaller limbs at the vice commander and hastily shoot them out at the vice commander in a wild barrage.

From the distance the arms came from, there was more than enough time for the vice commander to avoid it with ease. However, considering that there are those who are heavily injured and have difficulty moving right behind her, she decided to stand her ground, not that it mattered to her in the slightest if she took the attack head n or not, the result for her would not change.

The shadow limbs, upon contact with the commander, was immediately erased, not simply broken down, but vanished, completely removed from this plane of existence. Once Fittoa realized that the limbs could not touch her, she directed them elsewhere, digging into the ground around her.

Seeing this, the vice commander took a deep breath and channeled her mana throughout her entire body, preparing to intercept whatever is to come.

With her shadow limbs, Fittoa dug up debris from the ground, and though her vision is now severely blurred, she took aim with her [Critical Line], further draining away the life force she's using in place of mana, and flung the debris at the armored woman in the distance.

Flying at her with deadly speed was a rain of stone, yet, the vice commander was unperturbed and calmly, she exhaled the breath she had gathered up. At the same time, all over her body, magical energy began sparking and her eyes and hair turned crimson red. This was the vice commander's [Gift], [Limit Break], granting the vice commander, who was already blessed with amazing capabilities, the power to boost all of her abilities up to three times of their original potential.

With [Limit Break] activated, the vice commander easily deflects the stones raining down upon her, taking not a single hit upon herself and completely protecting those behind her. Once the barrage of stones had stopped, she immediately charges forward at a speed that could barely be kept up with by the human eyes and aimed her blade at Fittoa.

Having watched her barrage of stones being so easily defended against, Fittoa was in disbelief. What in the h.e.l.l is this woman, she wondered in her shock, to nullify all harmful magic and yet at the same time capable of using such a powerful [Gift], it was as if the world is saying that no curses or evils are to touch this individual, that only blessings and goodness shall be afforded to her. At that moment, Fittoa decided that she'll remove this woman from the face of this world, nothing else matters, so long as this woman who has everything is removed, then she can be satisfied even in death.

Seeing the trajectory of the rapidly approaching vice commander with her Eyes of Foresight, Fittoa, for the first time, moves one of the larger arm and dug into the ground, grabbing a large piece of the ground and prepares to use it to crush the armored woman. However, she didn't even get the chance to do that, as before the arm was able to swing down, the vice commander was already in front of her. The larger arm, despite its size and power, was simply too slow.

Before she knew it, Fittoa was in the air, the lower half of her body missing and her guts were spilling out. She could see the shadowy ma.s.s she had conjured completely eviscerated below, the vice commander's slash was so powerful that the giant shadow was reduced to almost nothing in a single blow. At that moment, Fittoa knew that it was over... No, in truth she knew it from the start, that she never stood a chance. Even so, she couldn't accept it, that after everything, this is where it ends. Even though she was supposed to become stronger and stronger and eventually stand at the top of the world, that was what she had thought would happen. In the end, such a thing was but a dream.

As she fell, Fittoa closes her eyes, preparing herself for the inevitable impact, she wondered if it would hurt, not that it would matter as she was no stranger to pain. It wouldn't matter, but still...

However, the impact never came. Instead, she felt a powerful gale carrying her and gently placed her on the ground. There, she saw Alex with his wand out, his hair, his face, his clothes, splattered with the blood of her fluttering guts, his face turning blue, but it was only after he had set Fittoa down on the ground did he turn away to vomit.

By the time Alex turned back, all there was waiting for him was the lifeless gaze of Fittoa, her face pale and her guts spilled to the ground. She was gone, he was sure, even his eyes said so, but then all of a sudden, Fittoa's eyes flashed with a sinister green light, and by the time Alex's vision recovered from the flash, he found himself in a very strange place.

***

The walls were drab and brown, the floor is incredibly cold. All there was to sleep or sit on, was a tattered piece of blanket. Each day, a man would come and unlock the door, a man with a pair of sinister green eyes. Each day, the man brings a vial of dark ooze.

After drinking the black muddy liquid, the body always felt strange, felt like something was invading, changing the insides, but worst of all, it brings an incredible pain, as if a ball of burning lead was stuffed into the stomach.

"As expected, the lack of mana is a problem even before the specimen's compatibility with the [Gifts]," the man with the green eyes would mutter. "I'll have to start over, find someone with the mana capacity similar to mine, only then I can begin searching for the perfect combination. I'll show them, I'll show them all."

One day, however, the man stopped coming, he stopped opening the door, stopped bringing in food. It seems that being left for dead is to be one's fate.

It was when on the verge of hunger and thirst, when one could only beg for death to come sooner rather than later, right then, a dream came, and there was the man with the green eyes. In that dream, he said a great many things, mostly ramblings and rants, hardly anything of substance. However, there was one thing he said that stuck out, it was the way to open the door, a parting gift, as the man puts it.

A hand was placed upon the door, and a word was whispered, a name for a spell, a weak, insignificant spell. However, insignificant it may be, the door reacted, for it was enchanted to reflect all attempts of damaging it, just in case. But as soon as the door reacts, a sinister green light was cast upon it, and the door turned on itself, the force meant to reflect incoming damage ended up knocking the door off its hinges.

Small feet climbed the stairs heading upwards, small hands pilfered food from the kitchen. Some were rotten, some had mold growing on them, but food was food, and without it, it'll be death either way.

When the food was all gone, the small feet began to move, searching for a way out. Eventually, a room was found, in it was a lonely bed and on the bed, a lonely corpse, gnawed on by rats and all sorts of vermin. The man with the green eyes had pa.s.sed. He had caught a sickness many days before and died.

Eventually, an exit was found, no longer are there drab walls, no longer are there cold floors, but an open sky and bright lights...

"Yet, the world outside would be just as unkind."

There she is, Fittoa Valencia, sulking upon a golden desk, seated atop a golden chair. Across her is Alex, who found himself in a strange s.p.a.ce, one that appears to be a library of gold with gold trimmed books and tomes floating about. This was the same place he found himself in prior to arriving into this new world.

"So this is what's inside of you, this source of your [Gift]," said Fittoa, clearly trying to clue Alex in.

"This is, inside of me?"

"Figuratively speaking, yes."

"Is this a dream?"

"I wonder."

"So, you were saying, about the world outside?"

"You're actually interested?"

"A little, yeah."

"Even after knowing I tried to gouge you eyes out on at least three separate occasions?"

"T-there were that many times?"

"Gene watched over you better than you know. He rarely left any openings for me to approach."

"I see, I guess I was lucky he's there for me."

"Yes... good for you." Fittoa slouched over the golden desk, seemingly pouting harder than before.

"So you were saying? About getting to the outside world?"

"Well, I didn't get very far till the Circle of Mages got a hold of me. Apparently they were watching the old man, the guy that fell sick and died on his bed, they were watching that guy for a while now. The day I got out happens to be the day the Inquisitors decided to take a visit, and immediately the caught weak little ol' me."

"Then what happened?"

"They put me in a room and asked me questions and did all sorts of examinations on me, and at the end of the day, they called me a product of forbidden magic and tried to kill me."

"Does that have to do with the black liquid by any chance?"

"Indeed. That black liquid were apparently the broken down body parts of individuals with specific abilities. The old man fed it to me and used his mystic sight to bind those abilities to my body. He was apparently trying to find a perfect combination of abilities or something like that, but apparently, I lack the mana to utilize the best of the abilities given to me. I suppose he might have gotten rid of me had he not gotten sick. So anyways, the Circle of Mages recognized that I was basically a c.o.c.ktail of [Gifts] and various special powers and declared me an abomination. Luckily for me, the fools tried to execute me with magic, and well, my eyes turned their magic back at them and made short work of them."

Briefly, Fittoa activates her eyes and showed Alex the sinister green glow to make a point.

"After that, I spent my days being hunted. Now that I think about it, my position back then is similar to yours right now."

"Well sure, but my current predicament is sort of your fault wasn't it?"

"Maybe, but you had someone watching out for you and for the short while it lasted, you enjoyed it a little didn't you. I know you did, after all, I've been watching you very closely, for a chance to gouge out those big round eyes of yours that is."

Instinctively, Alex felt a fear for his own life as he imagined how close he might have been to become like one of Fittoa's victims.

"But you're lucky, Alex, I wished I was picked up by someone like Gene back then. Things would have turned out differently."

"Yeah, I guess it would."

At length, Fittoa sighed. "Well whatever, I'm already dead so there's no need to worry about it anymore, not about how unfair everything was or about how I'm couldn't become the most powerful being in the world."

"The most powerful in the world? That's... how should I put it? It sounds like something an eighth-grader would say."

"Shut up, you! I could have done it."

"I'm sure you could."

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, but aren't you getting rather cheeky? Are you being influenced by Gene I wonder? Or is this actually your true personality?"

"I could say the same to you. You seem more relaxed here, or rather, you're acting more like you would when you're 'Tina'."

"Well, I AM dead. My worries are behind me now."

"I suppose you have a po- Fitta!?"

Right in front of him, Alex could see that Fittoa is slowly fading away starting from her legs.

"Fitta... you're going to call me that?"

"It's the name you gave when we first met, so that's the name I match to your face I suppose."

"Even though I was actually marking you for gouging your eyes out later?"

"You said that already, the same line won't work twice."

"Hmph! Anyways, I suppose I should give you a farewell gift, like that old man gave to me."

Fittoa closed her eyes for a little. "Yes, this should be good. Alex, listen well."

Alex nodded and sat upright, preparing to receive his so called "gift".

"Life's unfair, and that's how it is, one way or another. Think about it, when Gene was busy trying to protect you, don't you think that perhaps there's someone who he was not able to save because he was with you?"

"What's that suppose to mean? But I guess theoretically, that is certainly possible, since Gene can't be at two places at once. Why ask this? Is this more of an attempt at guilt-tripping me?"

"Well you see, that night, the first night you spent after coming into this world, that night when Gene went to capture you, he had to cancel his plans to drink with a friend you see. So she drank alone and with no one sensible around to stop her when she had too much, she ended up drinking so much she was vomiting in the back alleyways."

All of a sudden, Alex had an unsettling premonition.

"Why tell me this?"

"Because I'm a terrible person and I'm envious of your good fortune, and because you'll find out on your own in time, so I figure that I should prepare you in advance."

"Fitta!"

While wearing a cat like grin, Fittoa faded away. And along with Fittoa, Alex's consciousness began to fade as well. The last thing he saw was a line of words that floats across his vision saying: "[Envious Beholder] obtained."

***

End of Chapter 19