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A volley of mana arrows whizzes through the air, burying themselves into the lamenting mask of an oblivion monk. As the monster dissolves into a heap of crimson fabric, two more take its place, sending forth a stream of flames. Mercedes leaps into the air, somersaulting over the inferno coming her way and dives into the crowd of monsters, cutting air slicing through the converging creatures before she follows up by sending forward a unicorn projection to plow through the crowd.
“What is with these monsters?” She pants, pinching a bit of her mana to summon forth a pixie. She cocks her dual crossbow and aims it forward, releasing stream after stream of arrows. “For them to leave their territory and suddenly converge like this—it’s as if they are being controlled.”
She’s barely granted any further time to breathe when a memory monk and qualm monk trainer suddenly swarm around her, arms in the air in preparation to launch another spell. Startled by their sudden appearance, Mercedes braces herself for impact when a beam of light shoots through the sea of monsters, ricocheting between the mobs and taking out the two trainee monks about to let loose their spell. Standing in the created opening is a familiar figure.
“Mercedes, are you alright?”
“Luminous!” Seizing the opportunity, she leaps into the air and lands beside him. Cerulean hues flicker behind the mage and she immediately raises her weapon to shoot at the approaching oblivion guardian, just as he does the same with his light rod to knock away an eye of time. Their gazes connect, an unspoken agreement passing between the two, before they twist and stand back to back, weapons trained on the monsters surging their way.
“What are you doing here?” Mercedes asks, not stopping her relentless attack on her foes. As she changes where she faces, Luminous remains against her back, moving in time with her shots and attacking any enemies remaining with timed spells.
“I also caught wind of the shift in monster movement at the Temple of Time and went to investigate.” The mage’s light orb begins to darken, Luminous shifting from his light waves to rain darkness on his foes. “I hadn’t realized you have done the same. It’s good that we’ve run into each other; are you unharmed?”
“Yes, thanks to you.” She glances over at him to give him a smile. “I appreciate your help, Luminous.”
It’s almost tranquil, their collaboration; the way they’re able to weave and duck with each other, arrows or sparks of light and darkness filling in the gaps left behind by the other. They could certainly attribute it to their long-lasting allyship, but it would be remiss of them to ignore the presence of something else underneath it all.
The elf pauses her attacks and tosses her left crossbow into the air, knocking back a vial of elixir before she catches her weapon in its descent. “We’ll never leave this stalemate if we remain as we are,” she comments, chest rising and falling from her exertion.
“I agree. We’ll need to charge ahead if we want to find the source of this.” Luminous doesn’t appear to be in any better shape, forehead furrowed as his eyes scan the crowd, calculating where to teleport through. With the mass of monsters, it’s difficult to pinpoint the source of their bizarre behavior, but the two of them have the benefit of mobility.
“I’ll take the ground as we burst ahead,” he decides. “I’ll count on you to handle the air and provide support as we move ahead. How are your mana reserves?”
“Well enough, now that I’ve taken an elixir. I’ll create an opening with Sylvidia; that should provide enough for you to go through.”
“Understood. By your leave, then.” Luminous’s grip tightens around his light rod and he tenses in anticipation.
“Wait.”
Before he could enquire further the reason for her appeal, Mercedes suddenly fills his vision and leans in to give him a kiss. It’s short and the briefest of one, but long enough for him to taste the sweetness of flowers and detect a scent of butterflies. As she leans back, she gives him not a look of regret, but an expression of expectancy.
“For good luck. Don’t fall here, Luminous.”
He touches his lips before returning her look with a small smile of his own. If it isn’t for all the monsters here… “I won’t—and I extend the same to you.”
“It’ll take much more than these to take me down.” With a shrill whistle, Mercedes leaps onto the back of the summoned unicorn and charges forward with a swirl of teal and green, knocking the first of their obstacles down. “Now go!”