"Mister! Mister!"
Drawing both of our attention, Sara came running up to both of us with a cheery smile while holding the Steam-nade.
"Can I?" she said, swinging the weapon around carelessly.
I was scared for a moment that it would be a little too heavy for her little body to wield, but my fears were misplaced. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to teach her how to use it right now, after all, we have an hour.
I led her outside to the same spot where I had been testing last night. In the distance, standing tall and alone in the corner of a few corroded buildings, was a lamppost. There was no particular reason that I chose this lamppost, but over the years, it has been subjected to my long-range inventions.
Sara, with the weapon in her hands, calmed down the moment I guided her sights towards the lamppost in the distance. Normally, shooting an empty cell this far would yield awful results, but we are in the Middle Core; natural airflow is nonexistent.
"So," Sara looked down the sights, "I look at these numbers?"
"That's the gist, but it's not really as simple as that." Ideally, she'll never need to shoot this far, but there was no harm in teaching her a bit about projectile drop-off. "You'll learn to understand this in time; for now, just imagine: the farther you are, the higher you need to aim."
Once I had her sights on the lamppost, I removed my hands. She held the launcher steady with minimal sway. But as she held it in place longer, I noticed the reason why she was so steady was that she wasn't breathing.
"Breathe, Sara."
Once she finally inhaled, she swayed, losing sight of the target. I waited as she tried to line herself back up to the lamppost. It took a while, but she managed to do it without my assistance.
"You can shoot it if you feel you are ready."
Without a moment's hesitation, a trail of steam jetted out from the launcher. With only one eye, it was difficult to see where the projectile was gonna land, but a faint sound of metal slamming into a pipe confirmed that she was off target.
Sara lined herself up again, this time holding her breath.
Miss.
She took aim again.
The sound of shattering glass came from a distance.
I tried to approach her, but she gave me a nasty glare that locked me in place. When she turned back to the sights, she leaned over to the left and a bit more upwards. Once she squeezed the trigger, the sound of the lamppost being hit filled my ears.
"I-I did it!" Sara put down the launcher and ran up to me. "See that!? See that!?"
I stroked her hair. "Yes, I saw." A grin stretched wide from ear to ear as I messed up her hair.
To think that she would be able to gauge the distance herself and take into account the direction the empty cell was gonna fly in.
"Ahem!" Rinne cleared her throat. Sara stopped smiling and ran behind me. "Shouldn't we be heading out? It's been about twenty minutes."
"We got time." I turned my attention back to Sara. "Hey, grab your weapon. There is one more thing I need you to do."
"Yes, sir."
"Hey!" Rinne shouted before walking over next to the door. "Fine, be that way."
What's gotten her so annoyed?
Sara picked up her weapon and held it low to the ground as she looked towards me with a curious look. "What do you need me to do?"
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a flashbang. "Here." I tossed to her. Clumsily, she caught it. "We'll see how quick you are to defend yourself. I will charge at you, and all you need to do is shoot me, simple, right?"
Sara nodded as she loaded the flashbang into the weapon. Strangely enough, she didn't unload the remaining empty cells; instead, she closed the revolving cylinder and spun it like a flashy cowboy with a revolver.
Her gaze was not fixed on me, the man who was about to charge at her, but rather behind me, where Rinne was. When I turned back, Rinne gave me a smug expression while she stuck her tongue out.
What did this cheeky brat do?
I suppose I should expect the unexpected. Not that I expect Sara to understand much from silent communication, but one should always expect the unexpected.
Sara seemed to be ready, her eyes fixed on me through the sights. Her finger rested on the trigger. I stepped off, breaking into a sprint. Sara pulled the trigger; I closed my eyes, expecting the flashbang.
"Huh!?" Something hard slammed into my head. An empty cell. Then, at my feet, the sound of metal bouncing into a roll forced me to dodge backward. I braced myself again for a flash, but nothing happened.
Twice?
I glared at Sara, who shot another shot; this time, I was not gonna be fooled.
How foolish of me to think that as I saw a grin line her lips. But it was too late to react as light leaked out of the flying metal object.
A blinding flash of light sent me staggering backward until something soft caught me.
"That's what you get." The smug voice belonged to none other than Rinne. Once my vision returned to normal, an expression matching her tone stared at me. "Now, can we hurry up?"
"D-did I do it right?" Sara ran up.
"Yeah," I stood up, looking at Sara. She not only managed to fake me out, but she did it twice. To the credit of the smug brat next to me, of course. But I suppose I should give credit where it's due. "Good job, Sara, and you, Rinne."
"I didn't do anything." She looked away, but there was a faint trace of a smile lining her lips.
Did she do that just for praise?
I got the feeling this wasn't the first time she's pulled this stunt from the shadows.
Time was running short, and with these two girls, the walk to the cafe might take a little longer. I told them to grab what they needed, and after I grabbed both my gun and Gearsaw, we headed out.
Rinne warily walked close to me, wearing the same tattered cloak that she wore the first day we met over her clothes. We moved through heavy daytime traffic. A feeling of unease built up. This was working hours for many, so why were so many people still on the streets? I moved through the sea of people, trying my best to ignore the incoherent chatter that filled my ears.
At moments like these, I wish I didn't have good hearing.
"…Again…"
"…killed…"
"…What is that thing?"
"…are we gonna die soon…"
Before I realized, I made my way to the front of the crowd where two men in familiar uniforms stood guard, pushing away civilians who tried to get close. One glance at me, and they let the girls and me through with zero problems.
Behind the two was a priestess who stood on equal rank with Muller. If Muller was on the level of a bear, she was a wolf, always baring her fangs. She was couched next to the body of a woman. Sara grabbed onto my arm and shielded herself from the sight.
She isn't as strong as you thought.
The distorted voice of my own played in my mind as a shadow danced around the crowd of people before landing on the priestess.
Everything will return to darkness. So why resist?
It was then that I saw, next to the dead woman, the decaying body of a void spawn. A blade crafted from crystal and steel was embedded between the lifeless eyes of the beast. The weapon gave off a blue glow, illuminating the dark creature's corpse.
"Axien…" Rinne tugged at the other side of me. As she did, the shadow faded, and I locked eyes with the priestess. She offered only a silent warning as Rinne spoke to me. "Something feels wrong."