The Fire Thread shuddered violently and opened up, just like last time, and Fire creatures erupted, extending forward in amorphous, heated blobs.
Those were new to me. Last time they were definitely more… uh… aflame than amorphous.
Penguin didn't seem happy about them either. He let out an alarmed chirp and turned into a sugar glider, running up my body until he could wrap himself back against my wrist as a wristwatch again.
Llewellyn attacked as the Fire creatures kept oozing out. One broke through the front line and lunged toward me, surprisingly more agile than its blob status suggested.
Shit!
I stumbled back, heart hammering, and summoned Water.
The shield held, and my Water Magic kept it at bay, but the impact still rattled my bones.
How did something so blob-like have so much body weight?!
Incredibly, my sword moved almost on its own, responding to my intentions one fraction of an instant before I could fully form them. Where it struck, Water flew out, the Fire creature dissolving instantly.
Damn, maybe I should let Penguin do all my shopping from now on.
I'd never held a sword in my life, and right now that didn't even seem to be that big of a problem.
Llewellyn's Magic flared brighter, cutting down creatures in waves.
"Flag another!" he yelled.
I was already on it. If I could set off enough Elemental reactions, the creatures might turn on each other—same as last time. Llewellyn must've had the same idea.
I gripped my sword tighter and chose an Air Thread.
The Wind creatures that spilled out of it were translucent and moving like living hurricanes. They collided with the Fire creatures and suddenly heated tornadoes of lava were twirling around the place.
I panicked. Had this been a terrible idea?!
However, Llewellyn redirected Water into the Wind creatures and both sets of creatures dissipated with a hiss.
Shivering with relief, I joined in and started doing the same.
"Keep flagging!" Llewellyn shouted. He was fighting dozens of creatures at once from basically every direction.
It was—as always—incredible, and, as I impaled my sword into another blob-like thing, I had to remind myself not to stare if I didn't want to die here.
I parred an attack and opened another Thread, but just then a Fire creature slipped past my guard.
I brought the sword up on instinct. The blade met its core and Water burst from the impact point, dousing it instantly.
Damn, the weapon really was doing half the work for me.
The heat was intense, making sweat drip into my eyes. I located a Water Thread, close enough to the Fire creatures that it might incite them to fight against each other, and flagged it.
The Thread opened up violently, Water creatures breaking out. Their liquid bodies hissed when they touched the Fire monsters, and steam erupted everywhere, making visibility even worse.
Penguin vibrated against my wrist, likely trembling. His agitation was making it harder to concentrate.
I pushed the watch higher under my sleeve hoping it'd make him feel more protected, or at least less overwhelmed by sounds and heat, then instinctively dodged as a Water creature surged toward me.
Say what you want about Elemental Cafés' games, but they'd definitely taught me how to dodge at least.
Llewellyn's training seemed to have done something too. I was still weak, but my muscle memory randomly kicked in when needed.
What had Llewellyn said?
Don't think just act.
Right. Easier said than done. Unless it kicked in on its own, I could only grit my teeth and do my best.
Llewellyn moved like lightning, his magic tearing through set after set of creatures, his sword switching Elements with ease.
His attacks were precise, each strike perfectly placed to eliminate multiple targets at once.
Water and Fire creatures fell before him. The ones that survived collided violently, their forms evaporating.
"Next!" Llewellyn said.
He didn't seem to need my help with combat, so I focused on flagging the Threads and defending myself.
I ducked under a joint attack from Fire and Wind creatures, then a Water creature slammed into my shield.
This was getting crowded. Activating Elemental reactions was definitely a good idea, but my level wasn't so high!
The Moonlight Sword thrummed faintly in my grip.
Under Llewellyn's unstoppable attack power, Fire and Water monsters were soon dispatched, so I located another Fire Thread. My Water Magic might be more helpful against Fire creatures.
Unfortunately, when I flagged it—
"..."
The creature that emerged was a massive living furnace of magma.
Fucking hell.
I flagged a Water thread too and jumped back into the fight.
At some point, I lost track of how long we'd been fighting.
My arm, the one holding the sword, ached, my grip slick with sweat.
One of the Water creatures broke past the others and slammed into me before I could dodge it. My shield held, barely—but the force knocked me backward.
I scrambled to my feet, breath ragged.
Penguin vibrated against my wrist, clearly agitated by all the Elemental magic around us.
I thought of the previous Distorted Realm I'd found him in and how he'd gone inert in it. I didn't think he liked fighting very much.
A Fire creature roared, and my shield almost vanished under the wave of heat.
Damn it.
I flagged another Water Thread. More creatures emerged—immediately beginning to steam where they touched the Fire beings.
Llewellyn was still destroying wave after wave.
"The Knot is weakening," I called out.
It had started to thin, its light dimmer.
Llewellyn let out a noise of understanding without looking away from his targets.
"Watch the Air creatures!" he yelled back a moment later.
I spun around just in time to dodge a whirlwind being that had tried to circle behind me. My sword flashed out, cutting through it easily.
"It's almost done!" I called.
"Last one!" Llewellyn yelled.
I reached for another Thread, but something made me hesitate.
The itch in my chest had changed.
I gasped.
"Something's wrong!"
Llewellyn turned to me sharply. "What do you mean?"
I studied the remaining Threads, eyes darting. They looked normal enough, but that feeling persisted. "I'm not sure. It just—"
Before I could finish, Penguin suddenly burst off my wrist with an urgent chirp. He turned into a fire fox midair, fur blazing bright.
"Penguin, what—"
Then, I saw it.
The Threads were pulling back, condensing into a spiral. The itch in my chest burrowed painfully, swirling, as if doing the same.
"Move!" Llewellyn shouted. "It's collapsing!"
The ground under our feet shook.
The Knot's light flared blindingly bright. The remaining Threads snapped taut as the Knot's energy pulled inward with devastating force, ready to implode.
Llewellyn dashed toward it.
Fuck! What was he thinking?
"Llewellyn! You can't cut it!"
"We have no option now!"
Shit! Was he insane?!
I suddenly understood why the System hired me. But how should I stop him?! There was no time!
Penguin darted after him, still in his fire fox form.
No… What was he doing?!
"Penguin!"
I tried to call him back, but he ignored me completely.
The Knot's implosion picked up speed, the cracks in the ground spreading wider.
The force pulling from the Knot yanked at my clothes, my hair, trying to drag me closer.
"Llewellyn!"
Penguin reached him first, fur so bright it hurt to look at. He circled Llewellyn once, hissing, then planted himself between Llewellyn and the Knot.
The itch in my chest flared again, intense enough to make me gasp. The spiral had become so tight it looked like a single point of light.
Fuck it. I tightened my grip on my sword and dashed forward too.
Penguin screeched in alarm and abandoned Llewellyn, running toward me.
He jumped onto my sleeve, right above where I was gripping my sword. Then, inexplicably, he turned into a fish.
-
[System Notification: Bond-enhancement activated!
Combat augmentation: Enabled.
Elemental channel: Enabled.]
-
"What?! What are you doing?!"
The Knot's light flared as Penguin's little fins held on for dear life.
What the… What was he planning to do?!
I raised my sword just as Llewellyn raised his own, his wreathed in flames.
Water flooded down my arm and into my sword—a river, a deluge.
I jumped as high as I could just as Llewellyn was doing the same, and we both hit the Knot at once.