There was a vague ringing in her ears, stopping her from hearing as well as she usually would, but when the large, twisted remains of the warehouse door clattered to the floor by her side, the vibrations rattled her bones.

She’d always been a stout, hardy thing, and even now, Melita didn't particularly need the forearm she held to her mouth to stop more of the smoke coming in. Her magic could clear the smoke and anything that came into her system, but there was no reason to waste her energy on such a thing.

A man walked in, fitted suit and cane speaking of aristocracy, but demeanour whispering of the underworld. And even if Melita were to give the benefit of the doubt of being sleazy by nature, the memory of his face running Leon through wasn’t one she was about to forget anytime soon.

Living her life secluded from everyone and everything, it had been the one time she'd courted trouble, sneaking into the place where they'd captured Leon. The misfit trying to save the hero, labels brushed aside for once.

And she got nothing from it but the pleasurable experience of watching her friend die and their branch's insignia, a trouble in her side that she'd only just gotten rid of.

A scrabble of movement at her side, and Melita rolled backwards, out of reach as she grabbed her assailant’s collar and hit the floor, throwing him to the side with the momentum before coming back on her feet. Who was this idiot interrupting her? Seeing the guy from before struggle to extricate himself from the barrels she’d thrown him into, Melita let out a scoff.

So the underworld had been closer than she thought. In that case, they should have come with stronger pills.

This was a bit of a complicated situation.

Ordinarily, she would have been long gone, but they probably thought she still had the insignia. They’d been sure Leon had it, but when he didn’t, set their sights on her. After they'd just about exterminated the branch, she was the only one left, after all.

A loud, raucous laugh came from the man as she shifted backwards, keeping him and the boy from before in her gaze. “You animals always make your moves right when I’m about to give up hope. You could have saved me the chase.”

Melita had suspected it, but his words were a confirmation that she didn’t need. The underworld had been pressuring everyone to make the current holders pass on their insignias, a feat that they usually only did when they died. It was a hard thing that required summoning all their life force and ripping it from themselves, equivalent to a bright light of energy to anyone who was sensitive to it.

And that was what they had been waiting for, and they’d interrupted her right when she’d been starting to gather it. It was a good plan. Not only would her insignia be with her, her store of magic would have been raw and separated from her body, only starting to reintegrate. It was a smart plan, and she was well and truly caught.

Well, if she had bonded with the insignia in the first place. Teresa probably thought the same, and assumed that if she’d run, Melita would have to force herself to survive if only to keep the insignia out their hands-as if she cared about the rotten thing.

Even in such a desperate situation, her Teresa always thought to keep her alive.

Melita hoped she wouldn’t feel too betrayed when Teresa found the insignia in her own possession.

But first, she had to make sure they wouldn’t catch said delinquent. Them assuming she still had it was central.

They thought that her powers were weakened, and so she'd make them think she was desperate and going out with a bang.

Whilst she’d always hated her martial arts lessons, she’d excelled in the arcane. And that was before Leon had given her his own reserve as he died.

Backing away as if she was cornered, Melita frowned, gathering her energy round her arms, into her palms, before she created the image of a huge fire ball that leapt from her fingers, filling the warehouse before her. She focused on the feeling of heat, the sight of the licking fire, the sound of the crackle.

Then waving her hand round her body, Melita pulled a camouflage round herself, making her own position invisible before superimposing her own figure on the space just beside her. That done, she turned and ran.

The illusion worked for the most part, screams of people behind her adding to the confusion and panic. Climbing up the barrels stacked along the back of the warehouse, it was simple enough to open the window before throwing a leg over and preparing for the drop.

A bullet shot through her double to puncture through the glass window, causing the image to flicker in the light. Almost immediately, there was another bang and a searing pain in her shoulder, a little too precise for it to have been a lucky shot. She had to be a bit more careful if she was to be of any use.

Gritting her teeth, Melita used her other hand to push herself off, rolling once she hit the floor to spread out the impact. Ignoring the shaking in her limbs, she started running, heading for the maze of alleys ahead. With her illusion up, she'd be able to gain some ground, at least for a little while.

This wasn’t the best situation, but even through the pain and the jolting impact as she ran, Melita couldn’t help the feeling of excitement spurring her further and further. Holding her injured arm to stabilize it a little, Melita realised she was smiling, and the realization only pulled the grin wider as she looked ahead, pushing forward with another burst of speed.

Hide and seek had always been her favourite game.