I kept running.
Far. Farther from that mysterious guy...
Not even glancing back once.
Until—
Dead end.
A river was in front of me, its waters flowing violently.
I glanced behind me.
There I saw something that caught my attention.
The person who's hunting me...
His arm.
His sword...
His legs...
All of them had a faint glow surrounding them.
"Hey there, brat!"
The hunter's shout snapped me back to reality.
"Nowhere to go, huh?" The hunter snickered as he slowly approached me. "You didn't really have to run... It was pointless."
I was panicking.
My hands were shaking as I held onto the same stick.
I prayed for anything.
For someone to save me.
For someone to rescue me.
I wished everything was just a dream...
That I would wake up.
Then—
He lunged forward.
My heart raced as my eyes widened.
"Sister... Gabriel..."
I tightened my grip on the stick.
"Find me!"
I braced myself.
The hunter's sword came crashing down.
I raised my stick to block it.
CLANG!
The impact sent me flying backward.
Dust surrounded me as I struggled to get back up.
"That hurts..."
I opened my eyes and glanced around.
Then...
I looked at my stick.
It was faintly glowing.
Just like the hunter's body.
The hunter stared at me in shock.
"So... you can use that, huh?"
He clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. Doesn't matter."
He raised his sword.
"I'm way more experienced than you are!"
He's right...
But—
All I need to do is...
Survive.