Chapter 8 – Stranger
The girl stared at Neel for a second, shock clear in her eyes. He had just appeared out of nowhere, pushed her out of the way, and taken that hit. Now he was on the ground, barely moving.
She took a step toward him without thinking.
The beast didn't give her that chance.
It lunged again, forcing her to step back immediately. Its claws tore through the space in front of her, missing by inches. She barely kept her balance.
"Hey—are you okay?" she called out, her voice strained, her eyes flicking between him and the monster.
No reply.
She clicked her tongue and raised her hand. A few white orbs flickered into existence behind her, unstable, like they might collapse any second. She didn't wait—just threw them forward.
They missed.
One went wide, another dipped too early, the rest just… didn't go where she wanted them to.
"…Great."
She already knew.
She couldn't beat this thing.
Her attacks weren't strong enough, and worse, she could feel it—her mana was almost gone. There wasn't much left to work with.
She ducked under another swipe, snow kicking up around her feet as she moved.
Think.
Running like this wouldn't work forever.
Fighting head-on? Yeah, that was just suicide.
Her eyes flicked to the beast's face for a moment.
The eyes… maybe if I hit—
No.
She shut that thought down immediately.
Too risky. Her aim wasn't good enough, and she didn't have the energy to waste on a gamble. One miss and she'd be dead before she could try again.
"There has to be something…" she muttered, breath uneven.
Then she remembered.
That guy.
She glanced toward Neel again.
He hadn't just moved fast—he had disappeared and reappeared next to her. No wind, no buildup, nothing.
That wasn't speed…
Another orb formed behind her and she threw it without aiming, just to force the beast to react while she ducked under a branch and cut right.
Her legs felt heavier.
"…shit."
Fatigue was catching up.
Each step took more effort than the last, her breathing rough now, chest burning. She risked a quick look back.
Still coming.
Closer.
"Seriously?!"
She threw two more orbs behind her, barely looking, just trying to slow it down. Then her gaze shifted back to Neel for a split second.
If that's teleportation…
Her mind started working around it.
Then we don't need to fight… we just need—
She cut the thought off and focused on staying alive.
On the ground, Neel forced his eyes open again.
The world felt… off. Slightly tilted. His head was light, like he might just black out if he relaxed for even a second.
Don't pass out.
His hand—no, his entire arm—felt numb and heavy. The crystal layer had spread over it, sealing the damage, but it wasn't healing. Not really. Just… holding things together.
Good enough.
He shifted his gaze toward the girl.
She was still fighting and evading barely.
Neel watched more carefully this time, forcing himself to focus through the dizziness.
She's not going to last.
It was obvious now. Her movements weren't as sharp as before. Slower. Sloppier. The timing between her attacks was getting worse.
At this rate… she's dead.
And after that—
He didn't need to finish that thought.
Neel exhaled slowly, steadying himself.
Think.
He watched the orbs again.
She creates them behind her… then launches them.
They hovered first, then moved.
So… controlled projectiles.
He remembered the impact earlier.
They explode… and burn, His eyes narrowed slightly.
Not pure fire… something else. doesn't matter
The important part was—
They hurt it.
Even if just a little.
Neel's thoughts started coming together, not clean, not perfect, but enough.
She can deal damage… but can't land hits properly.
Too many misses. Too much wasted energy.
Low control.
And now— probably low on mana.
He clenched his jaw.
"She can't win this" The thought was bitter but real.
His gaze shifted to the surroundings.
Trees. Snow. Limited space.
Then back to the beast.
Fast. Strong. Straightforward when it charges.
He thought for a second then his eyes shone with brilliance.