Chapter 20: Chapter 16 – Companionship

I'll find a way to kill Malison before she can kill me. That is the only way that I can live peacefully.

 

"You enjoy teasing me, don't you?" The two of us, with Tabitha, are walking deeper into the Dungeon. We've spent an entire day in here, I swear. Whenever either of us asks why we're in here for so long, Tabitha only replies with: 'quit asking so many questions, you're too young to question the ways of adults', and I find this very offensive since I used to be an adult myself!

 

I've spent a lot of time thinking of ways to kill Malison. Talking things out with her is unlikely. These Red Witches are too strong to stop with words alone. She'll sell me out to her mother without a second thought when she gets the chance. From my experience with the Red Mother, being found out by her again will be testing some rough waters.

 

Speaking of Malison, I see sweat drip down her face while we're walking. I tilt my head curiously, questioning what should be so nervous about. I hadn't seen her fighting so much that she'd need to break a sweat, so what was she so worried about?

 

Eventually, I bump into a wall, or what at least feels like such. Stumbling away from the wall, I lift my head to see what I'd bumped into while zoning out. The wall has a name, to my surprise. With shining red eyes, followed by a dark aura, the wall identified as Tabitha begins to turn to face me.

 

Something grips me by the back of my collar, pulling me away from Tabitha. The atmosphere becomes tense, enough to bring sweat out of me as well. Malison must've felt this tension long before me. "Is there a problem... Miss Tabitha?" I stutter, adjusting my stance subtly. Tabitha's eyes were glowing red, enough to emit light. Judging by Malison maintaining a tight grip on my collar, I don't think I'll be getting a response from Tabitha any time soon. 

 

"We're going to fight." Malison cautions, releasing me from her tight grip. "Fight like your life depends on it." This change is too sudden, but I need to be prepared for things like this. Using [Minor Future Sight], I take a glimpse into the future. Only for a few seconds.

 

---

 

I'm lying on the ground, blood rushing out of my mouth.

 

My body spasms on the ground as I gasp for air. 

 

A few feet away from me, Malison is on the ground as well. She isn't in as bad a condition as I am, but I can tell that she's hurting. She's struggling to get herself off the ground.

 

Tabitha is standing over the two of us, casting a massive shadow. Around her fist, there is an incredible black flame. 

 

The blackness of the flame has spread throughout the area to form a circle around us.

 

---

 

Before I can even return to my senses, I'm shocked to find that my body is moving on its own in the response to the danger of the vision. I've darted in Malison's direction. She's just as confused as me, but I'm acting based on my instincts, and that's the safest bet to take!

 

Taking hold of Malison's arm, activating [Flight] to bring the two of us off of the ground. An incredible heat has overtaken me even while I raise into the ground. Tabitha's hand has swiped through the air, and around the two of us, a massive wall of black flames has risen to block my path.

 

I begin to feel the hairs on my body rise in response to the danger behind me. I've made a horrible mistake. For just a moment, I've taken my eyes off Tabitha. 

 

At the corner of my eye, as I begin to turn around, I can see a mass of blackness approaching the side of my face. Even if I could slow down time, I'd still be hit by this attack approaching me. "Move!" I hear Malison say beneath me, feeling her take my wrist into her hand.

 

Before the black flame can strike me, I suddenly find myself outside of the circle of flames. Malison and I have returned to the ground. 

 

"Did she just teleport us?" The thought crosses my mind, that's the only possibility. I had no clue she possessed an ability like this. I'd assumed that it was merely invisibility or something of the sort... She's a lot more dangerous than I'd initially thought. No matter how dangerous she is, though, she cannot be more dangerous than the hot-eyed woman stepping through the wall of flames.

 

Tabitha finally starts speaking, giving us a few claps. "Impressive response, kids. I'd figured that this was just a waste of time. The Mistress sure took a positive gamble on you two." The massive wall of flames behind her subsides when she continues. "You two won't be leaving this dungeon until you can work together naturally. Since you're so close in age, Miss Tachibana's decided that the best way to forge a friendship between a slave and a trickster is to put you in a situation where you might die."

 

That explains why I was in such a horrible condition in the vision. This crazy bitch would've beaten the two of us in an instant had I not used that ability! Is she out of her mind?! How the fuck are we supposed to work together when we've been beaten before we can even work at all!

 

"I'm not responsible for how well you work together, so don't blame me if your mistakes—!" Now!

 

While Tabitha is in the middle of speaking, Malison and I match each other's movements and dash straight at her. Thanks to [Synergy], the two of us are able to act in unison quickly! I approach her left and Malison approaches her right. A black sphere begins to form in Malison's hand as the two of us get closer. In my hand, a ball of fire begins to grow in intensity as well.

 

Before either of our attacks can reach her, though, both I and Malison have had our bodies slammed into the ground. A weight has shifted on top of us. Tabitha vanished from in front of us and suddenly appeared on our backs, leaving dust where she once stood. "Synergy, right? That's a skill that's usually used by Goblins. I'd heard you have a lot of skills, but this one's pretty unique, isn't it?" My world crumbled into pieces. I'd never considered it, but almost all of my skills are stolen from monsters that can be found in dungeons. It would've made sense for people to identify them, especially Tabitha who's a powerful Awakener!

 

"But..." Both of her fists have become engulfed by black flames again. I swear I see a vein popping out of her forehead. This is getting dangerous! "You brats shouldn't cut a lady off when she's speaking!" Before she can incinerate us with those powerful flames, Malison and I vanish from beneath her, appearing a far distance away, past the trees of the forest setting. 

 

"Hey." Malison doesn't look my way, but I can tell this is important. "Yeah?" I respond, keeping my voice low. Tabitha might not know we're here yet, or is just giving us a small window to strategize. It's impossible to tell. "My ability lets me control space. I can teleport us as long as I'm making contact with you." 

 

. . . 

 

Are you serious? She's that straightforward with her ability? I'd thought that it'd be something super secret... Actually, now that I think about it, none of the powerhouses I've seen actually care if people 'weaker than them' know about their ability. When Alice had the upper hand against the Shaman she proudly boasted her powerful ability.

 

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Fuck, I guess I've got to return the favor. "I have multiple abilities. Minion Summoning, Fireball, Paralyzing Howl, and Luck." There's a specific reason why I've chosen four abilities. "Not counting my Beastkin abilities, Synergy, and Flight, these will be the most helpful of the ones I have." 

 

Malison takes a moment to think, placing a hand against her chin. During this time she takes to plan I decide to use future sight again.

 

Surprisingly, nothing of note happens. In fact, checking from where we are now, behind Tabitha, she's just standing there. She hasn't made an attempt at trying to find us. Could she be waiting for us to make a move? What is she, some kind of boss? 

 

Malison breaks the silence with a light snap, quiet enough for me to barely hear it from right beside her. "Alright, use your Luck skill, then I'll tell you the plan I've come up with." There's a serious look in her eyes, one, unlike anything I've seen from her until now. I was right to tell her about those abilities. 

 

---

 

Malison is a Red Witch with a secondary ability that I haven't identified yet. What I have understood are the limitations of the ability. When we first met, Malison convinced me that she was aware of how many abilities I possessed. I was an idiot and fell for the bait she set for me. There's no way she'd know that I had a lot of skills and then be convinced that I had less than a dozen only a few seconds ago.

 

I was feeling around for a response and revealed one of my biggest cards by mistake. 

 

Malison declared that she'd 'heard' about how many skills I had. It's only right since I was forced into the field because of my extraordinary abilities and potential. Yet, for some reason, she hesitated when I declared that she'd already known about my abilities. Red Witches all may possess a secondary ability that's given to them from birth, assuming that they don't function as normal humans.

 

This is all under the basis that the Red Witches are just as I'd been told; children of a goddess. They shouldn't have the same limitations as normal Awakeners. The Awakener Program chooses people and donates powers to them, but what about an abnormality? What about people who were born with abilities already? I've got to assume that each Red Witch has at least two.

 

The first ability is the one that you'll commonly see them use. Without being told, it's usually hard to deduce what they are, just going based on Toy and Malison's showcasing. The second ability can only be one of two things; Divine Protection or an ability that connects them to the Red Mother. The latter is most likely, because Malison recognized me immediately, despite not actively searching for me. I can assume that she's been with this group for a long time, so for her to be aware of what'd happened to my previous body means that she has a means of sharing information with her mother.

 

Lastly, assuming that Miss Tachibana would throw me, a 14-year-old girl, onto a team with Malison while assumedly untrained, I can only assume that Malison's tactical skills are greater than my own. She's been doing this longer than me, judging by the behavior of her siblings, all of them should be geniuses in the field of battle too.

 

---

 

I was right to let Malison take the stage with the planning. 

 

The black flames have engulfed the entire area, however, using Flight and Levitation at the same time, I've doubled the effects of the ability and have allowed myself to keep up with Malison who's dashing back away from the incoming arrows of flames.

 

Following Malison's plan, things have actually been working up fairly well. Using my abilities which don't seem to require any charge-up or particular stats, I'll continuously attack Tabitha with whatever I can and use Flight to make as much distance as I can so that Malison can reach me and teleport the two of us away.

 

At first, it didn't go so well. The moment I threw a fireball in her direction, her black flames overtook it and completely destroyed my attack. From there, she unleashed a powerful heatwave that launched me further into the forest, away from Malison. 

 

If it weren't for Malison's ability to teleport, she'd have probably been the first one of us to be taken down. Thankfully, she teleported to me and pulled us deeper into the dungeon as Tabitha gave chase. From there, our plays became better each time we implemented them. With Synergy and her planning, we were able to put the plans she came up with into action almost flawlessly.

 

I can see a light at the end of this tunnel. We might actually be able to pull off a checkmate!

 

━━━━Such a silly thought can only come from delusions.

 

There is a flash of light in front of the two of us. Malison reaches over and tries to grab me again, but she doesn't even have enough time. Before we know it, the two of us have been engulfed by Tabitha's flames, then everything goes black.

 

---

 

As Tabitha walks through the dungeon, she feels the weight of two girls in both of her arms. Sweat drips down her face as she thinks of the scolding she'll get for bringing these two back in such a horrible condition. They were both still breathing but that didn't change the fact that they had many burn marks on their bodies and what little remained of their clothes. "I might've been too harsh on them..."

 

Both of the girls had their heads laid against her shoulder, recovering from the beating she'd given them. "Miss Tachibana's really collected some monsters, hasn't she?" Tabitha looks up at the sky of the dungeon, approaching the gate that leads out. She lowers her head down and looks at the two girls she carefully carried. 

 

From her perspective, these two had outdone themselves. She'd never expected them to attack her in unison, not when the tension between them has been building steadily. When faced with a mutual enemy, they pushed their differences aside and tried to work together. Even with Synergy, this is a difficult feat to accomplish.

 

Malison's spacial manipulation has become more powerful as well. She was able to use it to create a destructive sphere. Out of all of the attacks sent, that one was the most dangerous. It might've torn a hole through me if I'd let it touch my body. Luck was even more dangerous. The more time she spent thinking, the more outrageous that ominous aura around her became. They'd thought that they were hidden away, but I don't think that either of them can see the thick cloud that surrounds this kid...

 

One is a genius with an ability that'll certainly lead her to become an S-Rank someday. The other is a sleeping giant whose growth potential is unlike anything I've ever seen. 

 

If these two continue working together, they might be able to conquer [that land] in the future... 

 

"For now, they're just some runts who I've got to keep in check." Tabitha chuckles at this thought. She had no shame in admitting that it was fun picking on these two troublemakers.

 

Thus, the most unlikely duo was formed. Little did either of the two know, this was the day that'd reshape both of their fates.

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