Hanita's eyes darted back to where Crix and Elian hid. Lifting up her trembling hand as she pointed a finger to the giant pile of rubble.
"They're hiding there!" she screamed. Her voice cracking. "You wanted p–pawns to claim to find the King, right? There's a pawn hiding there!"
The male Bishop's eyes remained cold, fixed tightly on her with that dead patience that only meant one thing—disbelief.
And she's slowly losing it.
Then, just as quickly, he grabbed a fistful of her hair.
Hanita screamed as he yanked, dragging her along the broken floor. The sharp tug ripped tears down her cheeks. Her nails clawed at his wrist, her body thrashing like an animal caught in a trap.
"Why won't you believe me?!" she shrieked, every word drenched in panic. "They're right there! I—I'm telling you! Elian! Come out! If I'm going down, you're coming with me! Ahhh—stop pulling my hair, Daniel! He's the glitch you've been trying to find!"
Her voice tore through the still air, desperate enough to crack stone.
Daniel's jaw twitched. Something dark flared in his eyes.
The next second, his hand lashed across her face, slapping her hard.
The slap cracked loud enough to echo.
Hanita froze. Her eyes widened in shock as her cheek burned, her mind went blank, the world thinned into white static noise.
Daniel let go of her hair and she fully dropped to the ground. He stormed past her, thrusting a hand toward the pile of rubble as he inaudible grumbled a few curse words.
Instantly, a flash of green static of electricity buzzed around him, the ground vibrating under his boots.
"I am only doing this to keep your trash mouth shut. The bare sound of your voice irritates me," he spat.
The debris lifted, boulders and splinters of wall rose into the air, spinning in a vortex of gray dust. Then—snap.
A white light surged from his palm, and the rubble disintegrated. Every shard, every grain, turned to drifting ash.
Nothing remained.
And by nothing, no one was hiding under the rubble.
Hanita stared hard. Her now broken lips parted, breath hitching.
"No…"
She dropped to her knees, hands digging into the dust that used to be stone.
"No—no, no, no…" Her voice cracked, devolving into sobs. "They were right there! I told them to he-help me—It can't be…"
She pressed her forehead against the ground, trembling, tears soaking into the ash.
Daniel turned, exhaling through his nose in quiet disgust. He yanked her upright again. "See? No one's there! Goodness. And she's supposed to be of a new Queen class?! What is the guild thinking?"
He let out a sigh. "Stand. Now. You're following me for... proper examinations."
But Hanita didn't answer.
Her silent gaze still lingered on the ground.
"... they always keep leaving me behind..." her hair matted her face from the tears. "Just like before... I'm always let behind. Every. Single. Time."
Why? Just why? I don't want to be left behind again.
I don't want to—
Her eyes snapped to him. Ah, that's it. How did I use it before? "I remember now."
Daniel stared at her with utter confusion. "Oh for goddess's sake! Are you crazy now?! Come. With. Me."
Hanita's sobs went dead silent as she locked eyes with him.
"I want you dead." she spat, "I want your head on the floor, your body... broken into a million pieces."
Everything went silent.
Daniel's mouth twitched. He laughed bitterly once and turned away. Hands still grabbing her.
For a fraction of a second, a high pinpoint sound that doesn't exist cut the air in a short wave.
Suddenly, Daniel's laugh died mid-sound.
His head snapped to her as if pulled by a string. His eyes widened, but then instantly rolled to the back of his head. His jaw clenched as his hands fell numb to his sides.
A clean line appeared above his neck and white seam ran across his throat as if a hand was squeezing his neck, then it popped, blood spraying messily onto the floor. His neck was now fracturing and ruptured.
And Hanita surprisingly enjoyed every single broken and ragged sound he made while clawing at his neck.
His head came off cleanly as It fell and hit stone with a hollow, wet thunk.
The seam traveled down. His ribs split open as his torso opened, flesh parting. Organs slid of him, his red glistening intestines falling to the ground.
Soon, his body folded in half at the waist. The two halves collapsed outward, each side twitching until it stilled.
Silence slammed into the space after the last sloshing sound.
Hanita stared. Her fingers were laced in hair. Red smeared up her arms and the sound of her own pulse filled her ears.
Her knees gave out, falling onto a bed of blood mixed with ash.
Her hands were shaking so hard the blood trembled on her palms.
But the gnawing euphoria left her... wanting more.
Then she broke into a short laugh.
Her laughter was a sharp, broken sound that scraped out of her throat, rising until it wasn't laughter anymore but the noise of something that had finally cracked.
"Hanita... Tina... There was no original. I-i'm both of them. T-tina wanted to always kill herself. That damn brat want to claw back into my skin."
She wiped the grime off her face. "Isn't that right, Reynolds sir?"