One More Time
Quickly, I regain my composure, unlike before, this time I immediately recalled what had happened. The sensation of memories and the pain intensify. A severe headache assails my mind.
But there's no time to waste; I must carry on; I must move forward. I will prove to myself that I won't repeat my past mistakes.
And it's all going to begin now.
"My name is Satella," Emilia looks at me, waiting for my reaction.
"Your gaze seems like that of someone about to commit a murder," I tease Emilia with a smile.
She looks at me in astonishment. She didn't expect my words to be positive, but she also didn't expect me to joke like this.
Puck, as if following a script, bursts into laughter to break the tense atmosphere.
Emilia takes Puck by the cheeks and stretches them.
"Puck! Don't mock me!" Emilia looks at Puck, her face a mix of embarrassment, annoyance, and delight.
So many emotions in a single expression. Probably for her, I'm one of the few people who haven't judged her by her appearance.
"Speaking seriously, it's a good name," I gaze directly into Emilia's eyes.
"I'm a half-elf," Emilia states, still with Puck attempting to escape her grasp.
I move a bit closer to her, trying not to make her uncomfortable, but I wanted to see clearly. She saved me out of self-interest. I'll save her for the same reason.
Even now that I recall it. Was this the original save point in the novel? I don't think so. Is it because we're different people?
"It makes sense, only elves could have such beautiful features," I act as if I'm analyzing her body.
I feel a bit foolish doing this.
"I... Uh..." Emilia is at a loss for words. She releases Puck and quickly turns her back to me.
Her ears betray her feelings; they were slightly red. Perhaps, if I left them longer like in a novel, they'd start emitting smoke.
Puck lunges at me, giving me a gentle tap on the cheek.
In contrast to the previous time, this tap feels warm, as if he's excited.
"Uh? What's that about?" I watch as Puck continues to rest his paw on my cheek.
Puck then starts floating around me.
"It's nothing bad, I just wanted to do something with this tingling sensation," Puck begins to chuckle softly.
Emilia holds her head, unsure how to react. I suppose, after all, she has that same mindset.
On a small stone bridge in the impoverished neighborhoods of the country of Lugunica, this girl receives her first compliment from a stranger.
I suppose her reaction is understandable.
"Are you okay?" I crouch down beside her, trying to see if we can leave now.
This should earn me a bit more of her trust.
Emilia looks at me and rolls over, turning her back to me. Still as red as a tomato, she probably doesn't know what to do.
"If you tell her she's pretty, she won't know how to react, it's your fault," Puck comments cheerfully.
"Well, I can't lie, the truth is the truth," I affirm, looking at Emilia's back, causing her to blush even more.
Maybe I'm about to see real smoke.
Though, that's better left for another time.
"It's going to get dark soon; we'd better hurry," I caution with a more serious tone. "We don't know if there will be any dangers."
I look at Puck, indicating that he should be alert. I can't let history repeat itself; I have to win this battle.
Emilia understands my words, despite being flushed, she gets up and runs ahead of me, preventing me from seeing her face.
"Let's go," says Emilia, taking a few steps before stopping.
"Satella?"
Emilia then turns around, but unlike me, it's not to escape. She turns around and gives me a wide ear-to-ear smile.
"Pleasure to meet you, Marco."
Her smile shines, gleams like that star that never sleeps. She closes her eyes and tilts her head slightly; her hair sways with her. Without a doubt, it was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen in my entire life.
My face attempted to smile in response, but it's not the time for that.
"Yes, pleasure to meet you," I took a few long strides and stood beside her.
We began to walk, observing how everyone seemed to be afraid of us: of Emilia, probably. I have to think, I have to think about the reason for the attack.
The time of the attack is probably because Roswaal knows when Puck can't do anything. So, if that's true, she'll always attack at dusk.
So, if I go alone, could I get the insignia?
That's not possible; if I go alone, I'll have to face both of them since there's no way to do anything. Sacrificing my cell phone is sacrificing my stay and my ambitions.
I need to come up with a better plan.
Moreover, Elsa is probably watching us secretly right now. She would do that, probably waiting for the best moment to attack, so this event is inevitable.
Slowly, we approach; from here, I can already see the bazaar. There are no signs of battle, it's just there. However, my body knows it's time to face this ordeal.
Both of us move forward slowly.
"You must be prepared; we don't know what awaits us."
Emilia tries to say something when she sees my face, but I stop her.
"I'm not going to leave; we're going to finish this."
I stand in front of the door; if Elsa is watching us, she should know I'm ready. I knock on the door forcefully. My emotions, my fear, my life, my past.
I'm in a new world now; I have to be someone new.
Felt opens the door, her face appearing slightly annoyed by the fact that I knocked so hard.
"I heard you! You didn't have to knock so loudly!" Felt looks at me with irritation, ignoring the person behind me.
"I'm sorry, maybe I knocked a bit too hard," I give Felt a smile, pointing my thumb towards Emilia.
Felt shifts her gaze to Emilia, causing her angry expression to change to one of fear. Emilia tries to grab Felt's arm, but in the blink of an eye, she's inside the room, next to Rom.
Upon seeing Felt's expression, Rom realizes the situation. He grabs his mace and tries to intimidate us by tapping the ground.
"Give back the insignia, and everything will be fine. If you have any problems, we can offer you protection, after all, the owner is already here," I extend my hand, trying to reason with Felt.
"I don't care!" Felt exclaims, hiding behind Rom. "With that money, I was going to start a business. You better leave if you don't want to become minced meat."
Rom acts in line with Felt's words and shifts the position of his mace to his shoulder. Emilia then enters the room and smiles.
"Then we'll have to come to an agreement."
Puck emerges from Emilia's hair, causing Rom's confident expression to change to one of fear.
"We don't have to force it; it's better to avoid problems," I look around, trying to make her understand my words, "right? Elsa."
As I say that, the atmosphere becomes tense, the air thickens, and in an instant, a kukri knife flies towards my stomach. I roll on the ground to dodge it, and as we had agreed, Emilia launches multiple ice stakes in the direction of the attack.
A shadow moves at lightning speed, dodging stake after stake effortlessly.
"Well, it seems the little thief is useless after all," Elsa shatters multiple ice stakes with her kukri; her movements were magical, almost as if she were dancing.
Felt clenches her fist, her face contorting with a whirlwind of emotions. It's clear that for some reason, those words affected her deeply.
"Now that the owner is here, I suppose my only option is to kill you all," she gives me a piercing look.
I smile directly into her eyes, trying to hide my fear.
"Hah! Anyway, you were going to kill them," I look around to see if there's any weapon I can use.
I won't attack; it's foolish considering her superhuman abilities. What I'll do will be something else. After all, the best weapon I have is my brain.
Elsa starts laughing as she dodges Puck's ice stakes. Her laughter echoes and she changes position, yet everything is effortless, indicating that what she's doing doesn't require any effort.
"You've exposed me, lad," Elsa briefly fixes her gaze on me, "You're a completely unknown factor even to my contractor... Interesting."
"You move well for a mere child," Puck attacks more firmly; the attacks seemed to be chasing Elsa, but none of them were able to hit her.
"A little spirit has praised me. I suppose I should feel honored by that."
Elsa changes her direction towards us. Rom quickly charges at her, wielding his mace in a downward arc. With tremendous force, Rom tries to crush Elsa, but in an instant, she lands on top of Rom's mace.
Elsa tries to react, but Puck launches multiple stakes at her. Elsa jumps to the ceiling, spins, placing her feet on the ceiling, and tries to attack me. For a brief moment, our gazes connect; I could feel her anger, but I could also sense her excitement for the situation.
I remember now.
"It must be tough to feel cold, isn't it? Little vampire," I comment, looking at her confidently.
For a moment, she seemed to hesitate at my words; that moment was enough for me to dodge her attack and for an ice stake to pierce her shoulder.
"Are you ignoring me? Well, it seems I have to entertain you better."
Puck attacks Elsa, and she retreats to remove the ice stake and stops.
"Do you know me so well? Well... that's a surprise," her facial expression changes, her thirst for blood increases, hinting at her desire to kill us.
Elsa looks at Puck, knowing that his attacks were weakening; she wants to finish him off first.
"Did I upset you? Then let me give you the attention you deserve before you disappear."
"It seems I haven't introduced myself, miss. My name is Puck. I would like you to at least remember my name while you bid farewell to this world."
Elsa takes advantage of the gaps between shots to dodge; basically, she uses anything as a point of support to get closer. However, when she was about to strike Emilia, Emilia used her ice magic to create a barrier and protect herself.
Felt seems to be waiting for an opportunity to do something, but I can see that she's still trembling. Those words probably affected her even more.
I put my hand on Felt's shoulder, making her surprised and look me directly in the eyes. I grip her firmly, trying to assert my authority over her. I need her to understand quickly, without complaints or doubts.
"You're going to run and seek help, listen. There's probably a knight patrolling around here. If you see him, ask for help, and tell him to hurry to come here," I look at Felt without a doubt.
This time, I need her to arrive in time. After everything I've done, I need to buy more time for her to arrive.
Felt looks at me in surprise. She tries to say something, but Rom interrupts her.
"Go, you must call someone who can help us in this situation. Don't worry about us," Rom smiles at Felt.
"Rom, we must protect her while she escapes," I grab a shield that was lying on the ground.
The shield is a buckler, a small shield, but being made of metal, it will protect me from her kukri.
Felt understands. She looks at both of us and says to me:
"You have to survive so that I can give you the insignia." Felt begins to run to escape but stops when she sees Puck is about to do something.
Elsa tries to advance, but Puck seems to have charged that attack. Elsa's feet get caught in the ice. Puck had frozen the ground and is ready to unleash his attack.
"Well, it seems you've caught me," Elsa asserts with a smile on her face.
"Blame the age gap. There are many reasons to congratulate you for enduring so much, but it's time to sleep now, so good night."
Puck's chest begins to glow. Puck seems to have charged a significant amount of mana, to the extent that Emilia's hair waves upwards. That's Puck's final move; magical power is concentrated, and the brightness is almost like that of a flashlight.
Puck smiles and launches the attack. More than a stake or something solid, a blizzard rushes towards the area.
The ground, the ceiling, and all objects are freezing in its path. In the blink of an eye, half of the bazaar was dyed in white. The previous damp smell was replaced by a cold that stung the nose.
The pressure is so strong that the windows break. Felt sees her chance to escape; it's still unknown if this defeated her, so she decided to flee.
Rom thinks that's enough, so he got distracted, but I know it's not.
"It can't be," Puck denies.
An ice kukri travels through the air, heading straight in Felt's path. Normally, that would have been her end, but I've already predicted it.
I take advantage of the frozen ground to gain momentum. With reduced friction, I reach the kukri and with my buckler, I give it a strong parry, causing it to change direction and crash into a wall.
"That was brilliant, little brother!" Felt exclaims before leaping out of the window.
Due to inertia, my body follows the movement, and I end up colliding heavily with the wall. I use my arm to cushion the blow, but it still hurts quite a bit.
"Of course, it can be," Elsa cuts through the icy mist with a swing of her kukri, "Ah, that was incredible. I thought I would die there; I can feel the blood flowing through my body. Perhaps the age difference isn't so important after all."
Elsa taunts Puck, her bleeding feet demonstrating her determination.
"That's not something a girl should do," Puck asserts with a neutral tone, not appearing upset by her mockery, but simply not pleased.
Elsa takes two pieces of ice, looks at them for a few seconds, and places them on her feet. As if breaking the air with the vapor from the ice mixing with drops of blood from her feet. With a smile, she nods and uses her kukri to shape them in the same way as the soles of her feet.
"Luckily, I didn't have to cut off my feet," Elsa taps the floor with the pieces of ice on her feet, as if testing a pair of shoes, "Instead, I gained a new pair of shoes. Thanks."
"That must have hurt," Puck remarks.
In response to Puck's words, Elsa nods and licks her kukri, crimson vapor rising from her feet, indicating that even with that, her feet are constantly burning.
Only I know that the pain she's feeling is greater than that, as her nerve endings must be constantly damaged and repaired due to her vampiric ability.
"Can you endure it?" Emilia looks at Puck with concern, but Puck shakes his head.
"I'm sorry; I used everything I had in that attack Lia," Puck gives me a look, "I know you told me to be careful, but I'll leave my daughter in your care."
Puck winks at me; I know it's sarcasm, but he's not wrong with his words. Right now, I have to win this battle for my future in this world.
"Puck, don't joke in this situation," Emilia scolds Puck; he gives her a smile and disappears.
"That was unpleasantly beautiful," Elsa breaks the moment, and both of us focus on her.
I place my shield in front of me; all I can do is defend myself. Attacking her is basically suicide. Although...
The ceiling is frozen; that means it's heavier now.
With a new idea, I see the possibilities of turning the tide of the battle.
I stand beside Emilia, who is determined to defeat Elsa at all costs.
"Do you have enough mana?"
A stupid question, it's Emilia after all.
"Yes, I have."
Elsa rushes at us, not giving us a chance to think, but Rom throws a barstool at her and starts attacking her.
"Listen... Shoot ice stakes in a straight line towards the walls, make them thick enough to penetrate the walls. And on the ceiling, make a square shape. Can you make them disappear, right?"
"Yes, I can do it, but... What's the purpose? That won't help."
I give Emilia a small punch on the shoulder. My look says it all; she has to trust me.
"I'm with you, you're not alone. Let me show you what I'm made of."
Emilia looks at me without knowing what to say for a moment, but she quickly sees that Rom is struggling to keep up with Elsa.
"Okay, you're right."
We bump our fists; both of us are determined to get out of this. We will survive and celebrate our survival. While Emilia fights alongside Rom, I analyze.
The ice must have hardened the wood, and now that it's heavier, if we put more weight in one spot, it will fall.
The ground below was frozen. Despite Elsa sliding to dodge attacks by leaning on the walls, she seemed to have a slight setback due to the lack of friction.
Rom's blows destroyed everything in their path, even the wall seemed to be cracking due to the hardness of these attacks. After all, although the wood is tough now because it's frozen, it also makes it quite fragile.
I grab a mass on the ground and start executing my plan.
Emilia and Rom were attacking with different types of attacks. When Elsa approached Rom, he responded with his mass. Rom never turned his back on Emilia.
"They have good coordination. Could it be that this was planned?" Elsa smiles as she lunges her kukri toward Rom's head.
"Hah, it's just that I'm a good dance partner."
The kukri bounces off as it collides with one of the ice stakes. Elsa seizes the opportunity and manages to kick Rom in the face, but he remains unfazed and instead throws a left punch at Elsa.
Elsa uses the kukri to stab Rom's hand, but unexpectedly, he doesn't stop his attack and manages to send her flying to crash into the wall.
I only need to stop Elsa for a moment. If I surprise her enough, she will hesitate, and we can escape from the bazaar.
I head up to the second floor, leaving both of them fighting against Elsa. Quickly, I embed several swords in the floor, attempting to make some of them pass through, but several break instantly. However, it will be enough to cause damage.
The preparations are complete, so it's time to act. The moment Emilia launches the large ice stake at the ceiling, everything will work.
"It's over!" Emilia shouts from the lower floor, though I can't see the battle; I know that Elsa must be wondering where I am.
I'll make use of that feeling of surprise.
A large ice stake pierces through the second-floor ceiling. The wood trembles as the floor freezes. The second floor had more trash than I expected. I start throwing everything I see around the large ice stake.
The small stakes form a square, with a giant stake in the center. If I put enough weight on it, the sides will give way, and the floor will fall directly onto Elsa.
I pile up all sorts of rusty armor and weapons. Rom must be exhausted by now, and Emilia has used a lot of mana. If I don't act now, everything could go wrong. I climb up on some crates.
I'm higher than the giant stake in the middle.
It's now or never, I have to prove it. That I'm enough to survive in this world. I leap from the crates, jumping so high that I almost collide with the ceiling. As I descend, I place the shield in front of me. With my eyes fixed on my objective, I collide the tip of the stake with my shield. The recoil from the blow jolts my insides.
I feel pain, fear coursing through me, but I also want to survive. To survive in this world, I can't run; I have to fight.
The floor gives way, and the sides fall along with the objects that were there. Instead of breaking into multiple pieces, the floor collapses entirely in a square. As I fall, I can see Emilia's face, stunned by what's happening, but...
"Emilia!" I shout with all my might.
Elsa tries to retreat and avoid being crushed by the falling ceiling, but Emilia takes advantage of her distraction to freeze her feet. Elsa then takes her kukri and hurls it at the ice stake with all her might.
But that was part of the plan. The crystal was fragile at its base; I had told Emilia to use minimal mana on it. The moment Elsa's kukri touches the crystal, it shatters into tiny pieces.
In that instant, I can see Elsa's eyes. Her expression is priceless. She had managed to escape the stake, but behind her was me, still falling. Maybe I'm not as strong as the people of this world, but I can certainly manipulate physics in my favor.
I fall at full speed toward her, attempting to use my right arm, the one with the shield, to crush her head, but it doesn't respond.
"Damn it."
She can't use her arm with the kukri because she won't have time, but in this moment, I realize it. Elsa smiles and with her left hand, she forms a lance, attempting to impale me in mid-air.
Just as her hand is about to touch my stomach, a metallic sound rings out from above.
Elsa's fingers break instantly.
"Who laughs last, laughs best, you old bitch!" I lunge my left arm forward to impale her head with a spiked mace.
Her head explodes from the attack, almost like breaking a watermelon. I fall to the ground with force. The thunderous impact raises dust and frost all around.
I feel dizzy, but this isn't over. There will be a few seconds before Elsa revives. She can't move her body if her head doesn't exist, but the moment she regenerates, she will attack with everything.
"Get out of here!" I shout to Rom and Emilia.
Without hesitation, they leave. Rom effortlessly breaks through the wall, while Emilia escapes through a window. The hole created by Rom triggers a chain reaction, causing the ice stakes Emilia embedded in the walls to disappear.
With all the weight above, the bazaar starts to collapse.
"Marco!" Emilia's shout resonates with desperation.