Year 765 Hippocampus Rush -Minutes passed

Rhea’s whole body tensed just outside the window of the third floor, slowing her racing heart as still as she could. She never imagined a reality where she would follow the orders of a sailor, she’d sooner call herself an idiot if she ever met her past self.

But here she was, scaling the wallside as fast as possible in the short time that was given by a rather intolerant pirate captain. He was lucky that she had goals that aligned to his strict expectancies, otherwise this partnership would never have happened.

Her gaze flitted towards the distance below, it was a far drop. A normal person would respectfully fear such heights, but Rhea relishes such feats. She loved feeling the wind glide through her curls, the warmth of the sun on her back stirred the fires beneath her skin. Dreading when the adventure will end due to obligation, her head peeks in the window. The room is extremely dark, even her high vision had to adjust with a few more blinks than normal. Rhea slid into this dark room when she found no enemies, taking in the shadowed details of a few chairs, hanging portraits and a selection of expensive vases lining up the walls. This looks to be the dealers’ room. Last she was there during the day, Kang-back then still alive- was having dealings with a few buyers of his drugs.

In fact, he tried to buy her loyalty with the drugs he had to offer. Apparently, it’s common in Renuo to be addicted to some form of drug. Life is too hard to live in places as criminally riddled as Renuo, Kang spat about how Ranko’s parents succumbed to the green stabs.

Poor Ranko..wait-? Her head tilts towards the sound of someone humming a prayer. There is no way any of Kang’s loyalists are followers of the Church of Three Gods. It must be the Vicar. She crawled low, leaving this room with her right side pressed as close to the wall as humanly possible. Rhea didn’t have a lot of time on her side, driving her to move with purpose. Each hurried step was a risk that could give away her location. Rhea paused right at the doorway of another hallway; a guard exposed themselves along the opening looking rather exasperated.

“Oh, the damn holy man is at it agun!?′

“We can cut off his tongue?”

“We dun’t have the time...sounds like a lot is happening downstairs... Wonder if it has somethin’ to do with the busty thief.”

Busty!? She glanced at her banded chest, angry that she felt self-conscious enough to even look. It isn’t her fault that no one in this building could look past her assets. No one except for possibly the three she grew acquainted with. Even the pirate captain had enough decency to keep his degenerate comments to himself.

He would be a decent mortal man if only he wasn’t such a brat and criticized her every move.

“Listen...it got all quiet....I dun’t like that at all.” The guard stepped right out the doorway and stopped right in front of Rhea. He looked in the other direction, away from where she crouched so low. There were no other options, she had to take down this guard and the other that stalked the door to the big boss’s room.

Her palms burned hot, feeling the mana collected at her fingertips. She felt safe that no one she knew was watching her summon this power. She couldn’t deal with the questioning and the fear that came with the revelation.

At least, now she can put her powers to good use.

“HEY! WE ARE BEING ATTACKED, HELP!” The cries for help ricocheted down the hall towards where the gang loyalist stared so intently.

“Bud! Leave the old man!” The goon ran down the hall. His friend poked his head out, only to pause.

“Yar go right ahead. I wunt piss the boss off for leavin’” He rolled his eyes, then froze. He could see the smoke billowing from her mouth into the air. “What in the Anukrin cu-”

He wouldn’t be able to finish his cuss. Rhea latched onto him with both her burning hands on his neck and legs wrapped around his waist. The smell of burning flesh was worse than the screaming, but she ignored her queasiness and tried to silence him by switching one hand to cover his mouth. The pain must have been excruciating, running full force into the wall to try to shake her off. The air in her lungs escaped in the form of smoke. He even punched her face soon after.

The force had her head spinning, teeth jarring, but she latched on. Her mouth tasted blood from the new cut on her bruised lip. Didn’t matter, it only made her angrier and fire started to dance behind her teeth. “You will regret that.”

The heat in her fingertips increased till each of her digits started to change skin tone. From the regular brown to red and sizzled up what was beneath it. At this state of temperature, even the hallway got hotter, her fingers burned through skin and muscle till she reached the bone, which is always harder to burn. She reached both the neck bone and the jawbone. The nearly headless corpse dropped on its back, she straddled it, and breathed away the heat of her powers.

Though none of it went unnoticed...

“I-Is there a fire!?” The panicked voice cut through from the other side of the door. Rhea checked this corpse’s pockets and found a set of keys. There was no meat left from the bottom teeth to its neck bone. The burns scorched the exposed bone black, the glassy eyes stained with tears now lost the luster of their life.

Wherever her hot hands laid on, it left a horrifying trail of destruction. If she had been used to this line of work, she might’ve lost her breakfast. Killing is easier when her own life depended on it, it was even easier when these people threatened the orphanage.

Some will see this as callous, but there was nothing to it. The world already puts her at the bottom of the food chain, she refuses to lie on her back and let them take advantage of her.

“No fire Vicar. I am here.” She rolled onto her feet, keys now in her chilled fingertips. Padding towards the door, time was against them when the songs of chaos were just down the hallway.

“Child. How-?”

Rhea unlocked the door and pried it wide open. To no surprise, the Vicar stood just on the other side. There was fear in those button eyes but no cowering. Even his religious regalia is clean from abuse. He claimed the other day that his devotion gave him strength. This brought more peace to Rhea to see him unharmed and with his wits.

Good.

“No time. We need to leave!” Rhea grabbed his forearm and tugged him to run. He was older by two decades worth of birth moons, though he found his speed. Rhea just had to slow down for him. They ran towards the sound of chaos, having no other methods of escape and the Vicar wouldn’t know how to climb down a building.

“Keep close. We might be able to sneak by without bloodshed” Rhea insisted, removing the bow from her back and ready to shoot.

“A-Alright.” He may be confirming but doubt was clear in the quivering voice.

Rhea could reassure further but there is no clear indication what they will be walking into. The only thing she is certain about is that Connor is probably the cause of the screams and bellows of those men. That man is the walking death provider with his sword skills alone. He made it very clear he needed no additional assistance.

Her fingers clenched the old wood of her bow tight, compelled to assist despite it all. He did particularly save her and Ranko.

“R-Rhea...” Vicar ripped her out of her thoughts, she could hear why he was getting nervous. The footfalls pounded towards their way, and it wasn’t very clear who they belonged to. Rhea raised the point of her bow towards the hallway.

“Get the Vicar!? That might stop that maniac from slaughterin’ all our people!”

“A-“The two gang loyalists froze when they saw her and the Vicar. Rhea didn’t hesitate this time, shooting one right in the neck. Then she charged, ripping out the dying loyalist’s sword and using it to attack the other man. The sword was too big for her, so her one arm thrust was strangled. The tip of the blade went through the other loyalist’s thigh and he stepped back to avoid the screaming man’s attempts to grab her. The downed man reached for his pistol; Rhea released another arrow at the center of his face.

Both threats neutralized.

“By the gods, child!?” Vicar Jal fell back on his rear, being an un-violent man makes him detrimental to his own safety. This is not the kind of environment for a Vicar.

Rhea let out a strained guilty sigh, pulling out the embedded arrows and adding them back to her quiver. This only made the man more fearful of her. “Vicar...”

She didn’t know what was worse, being seen like some meal or a monster? Lately, this question has been bubbling up every day she remains in the orphanage. Rhea was counting the days till she messed up and they saw her for truly what she was. Then she truly misjudged how long she had before that day came.

Cause those pupils are shaking at the sight of her right now. Her jaw opens to speak, only to be drowned out by the sound of an explosion. White smoke billowed towards them from up the hallway, since she didn’t react fast enough, it engulfed them both. Their vision is completely blinded by the thickness of the smoke.

“Rhea! Where are you?” Stuttered the Vicar.

Rhea blinked past the smoke, her sight was better than most and she could make out the shadows of the holy man. She moved towards him, hand outreach and ignoring the insecurities in her gut. “Take my hand.”

He waved his hands around, till they found their way to her hand. He grasped hard, proving he trusted her enough to get him out of there. That was all that mattered to her for now, pushing down her negativity that bubbled in her thoughts. This smoke was very thick, there was no way that she could even rush through it without tripping each other. It didn’t smell or taste like anything in real life and kept forming despite the open windows. It sat heavy in the air, like some sort of fog, but not wet like one.

What...is this? She won’t get the answers. They found themselves in a dining facility and this is where she can make out the silhouettes of many people. Panicked movements mostly, it was hard to tell who a friend or foe was if you had normal eyesight. Rhea can tell that these are mostly bandits, squabbling for their own safety.

“THAT DAMN PIRATE DID THIS!?”

“WHERE IS HE?”

Pirate? Rhea’s ears perked at the mention of Connor and, for the first time in that whole day, her heart was at ease and elated to hear it. Stop that, we are in the middle of a battle!?

Smushing her confusing and strange feelings at the bottom of her chest, she dragged the clueless Vicar away from the stumbling bandits. They knelt behind the chairs, the Vicar following her every change of position and trembling while they moved through the enemy line. It’s very possible to get hurt by the confusion and if Connor had anything to do with this, he is just as blinded by it just like them. To avoid getting struck down by any of them, she must avoid them all equally.

Dragging the holy man again, she crawled away from what she could assume was the other side of the dining facilities. This is where she heard it, the blood-curdling screams of more of those loyalists being taken down by someone. The sounds were getting closer and closer.

Go away vishka! Rhea wanted to yell out, even then that would be a foolish attempt to protect them. It will just make the loyalist notice where and who she was. She had to take advantage of the confusion. Instead, she cussed Connor out mentally for making this more difficult than it had to be. Her attention is on their path ahead and the thickness of this smog is thinning by the time they reach another side of this dining facility. They should be breathing away from the door now based on her memory.

At this angle, she could see one silhouette flitting through the smoke with ease. Taking down one person at a time, based on this person’s poised silhouette and the calculative movements, she can tell right away who it was.

The grace in his stride, as if the smoke doesn’t faze him, and the seamless pinpoint accuracy of his sword swing. It reminded her again of the Starpecco, standing on one leg as it spins to strike and dancing around its foe and fanning its wings to disorientate and distract. Stabbing their foe with its long slender beak or ripping their bowels out with its serrated talons.

This avian creature is something she steers clear of due to its quick reflexes and confrontational front. It wasn’t a carnivore, nor did it have a lot of meat in its body to make hunting it worth it. She hated them for scaring her prey away.

It was like this man was a reincarnation of one with the way he moved around this room. He cut from one bandit to the next, confident enough not to check his work. Too damn confident for his own good. He is the confident type that will get himself killed due to his arrogance someday.

It looked like that was going to be the case when more bandits filled the room from other hallways. The smoke cleared up to the point that Connor couldn’t hide behind it any longer.

“There he is!”

“GET ’IM”

In the motion of brandishing her bow and arrow, she stood back on her heels and shot at the bandit to his right. Connor shook his head her way, not showing gratitude but not slowing down. He had more of the bandits filing in, now Rhea and Vicar were easy enough targets.

“Stay by me Vicar.”

The holy man nodded, keeping close to the woman. She protected the Vicar Jal every way she could, shooting down any that dare to come close to them. She would kill one, Connor would make up with two more.

The death count kept piling up, the Vicar was starting to shrink behind Rhea, this was a blood bath that he couldn’t stomach. She couldn’t in her right mind force him to push through it.

The number of bandits seemed manageable enough and she hollered to Connor. “Mister!? I am going to take Vicar straight to the stables! Do not die!”

“You should’ve done that by now.” Connor gifted her a look of disbelief, his eyes shimmered with the warmth of his annoyance.

He shoved that expression down, forced to fight his way out of being surrounded. Rhea felt confident that if he had the time to glare at her that meant this captain could get himself out of this predicament. Rhea grabbed Vicar Jal with her free arm and bounded down the entrance. The vicar nearly stumbled on the steps with the speed that she kept up. If they slow down, there is a chance that the goons will get to them. They saw Ranko at the end of these steps.

The boy immediately ran up to Vicar Jal and hugged the older man hard.

“Oh, my child!” The vicar’s eyeballs doe up with tears, and he hugged the boy back hard. It was a reunion well waited for.

That is why it hurt so much to say this, “Follow me to the stables.”

“Okay.” Vicar Jal sniffled with the boy as they separated. They followed Rhea closely as she found her way back to the stables. The stables had about ten keldios in their little rooms. Now there are only two available. What she recalled seeing was the carriage parked right outside.

And the plan is...