章 62: Fortify Thine Heart
[AHHH! Why did I say that?!]
Sera had been trying to play it coy, wanting to establish a good first impression. However, some combination of the stress of her near death experience, and relief due to her sudden salvation, had caused her to speak impatiently.
The man frowned at that. "Hey! I came over here as quickly as I could. In case you hadn't noticed, I literally flew here."
She grabbed his arm and pulled herself into a standing position, before placing her hands firmly on her hips.
"Yeah, and I was almost eaten by that big can demon thing! If you had been even a second later, I'd be dead! I saw you over at the barricade, you could've gotten moving a lot faster if you wanted to!"
[GAH! Why am I acting like this?! He's going to hate me!]
The man was at a loss for words. "Well, I was going to, but….I saw, er...I felt…" He trailed off, rubbing the back of his head, and looking embarrassed.
[Good, he's no longer angry. Now I just need to sincerely thank him for saving me, and we can start fresh.]
She folded her arms haughtily, "Hmph, at least you did save me, even if you were almost late. So I guess I should thank you."
(Mental facepalm)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mike had briefly glanced around to ensure that the other surviving civilians were able to get to safety, before offering a hand to the silver-haired woman. That was when the trouble started.
He was a little confused by the woman's actions. Most people would be happy to be alive, but she had immediately started complaining. Some part of him was already regretting saving her.
[Maybe it's a strange stress reaction. She couldn't really be a tsundere, right?]
He had never been particularly fond of the trope, finding the concept more annoying than attractive. He preferred less emotionally scarring romantic interests.
She had brought up a good point, though. If he hadn't been staring at her distractedly, he could have rescued her faster. That moment of hesitation could've have meant the difference between life and death.
[Just this morning I promised myself that I would do better, and I almost messed up again.]
The realization had left him feeling guilty and a little embarrassed.
[Maybe she does have a reason to complain. Although she doesn't need to be so hostile about it.]
She finally, reluctantly thanked him, blushing slightly as she did. He found himself staring at her again. Her furrowed brow, and the tinge of red in her cheeks softened her icy features.
While not quite a traditional beauty, the woman could definitely turn a few heads.
She was clearly embarrassed herself, and the obvious disconnect between her feelings and her actions amused Mike.
[Hmm, I can kind of see why some people might like this sort of thing.]
A call from the barricade saved them from further awkward interactions.
"Quit flirting you two! You've got demons coming in behind you. Get back to the barricade!"
Mike snapped a quick glance behind him, saw another swarm of horrors already clawing over the disintegrating bodies of their fellows.
He looked at the silver-haired woman. Despite her actions, he could tell she was on the verge of exhaustion.
"Can you run?"
She grimaced, "Maybe....but I don't really trust my legs right now."
"No choice, then." He replied, getting himself ready.
"Huh?"
Mike scooped the woman up into a classic princess carry. She was surprisingly light.
"What are you doing?! Let me go!" Her face flushed fully this time in a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
[She's awfully feisty for someone who's supposedly exhausted.]
"Hold on tight, this is going to be a bit rough." He said while preparing his mana.
"What do you meEEEEEEE!!' Her question morphed into a scream as a blast of wind lifted the pair into the air.
This was a particularly complicated use of Air Magic, especially since he was still at the basic level in terms of skill. Not only did Mike need to use small jets of air to correct their travel path, but he need to accurately direct a cushioning force to guarantee their safe landing.
This was all made more difficult when the woman started grabbing him in terror and screaming non-stop.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The woman was clinging to his neck, head buried in his shoulder. A small part of his mind took notice of the sweet floral scent of her hair.
The rest of him was starting to panic a little. They were coming in way too fast, and he could see adventurer's scattering out of the way below.
[Guess I'll just have to try it.]
He firmed his will, and started directing powerful air currents down, at a slight angle. He hoped to stall both their forward momentum and slow their descent. Fortunately, he felt the familiar internal click as his skill ranked up, making the whole process easier.
Nevertheless, he still landed hard on his feet, causing lines of pain to shoot from his legs all the way to his back. Thankfully, they faded quickly.
"Alright, we should be good now." He said in as comforting of a voice as he could manage.
The woman finally stopped screaming. She lifted her head, looked around at the watching adventurers, and realized that she was still clinging tightly to Mike's neck in way that could easily be mistaken for intimacy.
Mike could actually watch the progress of the flush of red that crept up her face. She immediately started struggling in his arms.
"Let me go, you brute!"
Mike set her down carefully, and took a few steps back to avoid her swinging fists. She was breathing heavily and still red with embarrassment. Her hair, mussed by both the wind of their flight and her following struggles, had settled into a comical, tangled mess.
Looking at her, Mike chuckled. He couldn't help himself. She looked ridiculous.
This only further irritated the woman.
Clenching her hands into tight fists, she narrowed her eyes in fury. "WHY YOU-"
It was at this point that James stepped in. "Now's not the time for that." He paused for a moment and muttered quietly to himself. "I've been saying that way too much today."
The veteran adventurer turned to Mike. "I guess you weren't lying about your abilities. I'm not sure why you are still so low ranking in the Guild, but we should consider ourselves fortunate that you are here. That attack you used before, the one that unleashed that cone of flame. Could you do it again?"
Mike considered for second. All told, he still had about two thirds of his mana available, but the missing portion was swiftly regenerating.
"I can probably do something similar, three or four more times, perhaps more if we don't care too much about collateral damage."
There was a collective gasp from the surrounding crowd, and Mike heard a quiet, "That's preposterous," from a familiar sounding voice.
James nodded gravely. "Alright, you are our trump card then. If we start to get overrun, I want you to clear the area in front of the barricade to give us time to regroup. Wait until I give the signal to do so. For right now, try to rest and regain your mana."
With that he turned and started issuing orders to the surrounding adventurers. They quickly returned to their assigned locations, and settled in to wait for the demons.
Even though they looked ready, Mike could tell that the majority of them were scared.
It was easy to forget that the people guarding this road with him were primarily young and inexperienced newbies who had only recently joined the Guild. Now they were being forced to stand and face horrifying monsters. That they were able and willing to do it at all, was quite inspiring.
Mike looked around to find a good vantage for the battle and noticed that the woman he had rescued was still nearby, looking a little miffed about something. At some point in the intervening time, she had fixed her unruly hair.
"You should follow the rest of the civilians to the Guild. This place is about to become a battlefield and we can't spare the people to protect you."
While he was speaking, Victor approached, an odd look on his face. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but couldn't quite manage to get it out before he was interrupted.
"Not so fast! I have business with you!" The silver-haired woman glared at Mike, completely ignoring the mage.
"Look, I'm sorry that you had a rough time of things up to this point, and I shouldn't have laughed at you, but you really should leave. It's dangerous here"
Victor tried to cut in again, "Um, excuse me...."
"Listen, you big idiot! We don't have time to sit around and wait for the demons to give up. They won't. If someone....no, if we don't go and put an end to this, everyone in the city will be killed. Hells, the world itself could be at risk."
"Ah, hello? I really think you should...." Victor tried again.
"What are you talking about?"
The woman averted her gaze, for the first time looking uncertain. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this..."
Victor finally jumped in between them, directly interrupting their conversation this time.
"I don't mean to intrude.....No that's a lie, I have to intrude. You both need to direct your attention over there, immediately."
Mike followed his pointing finger and saw a larger demon moving amongst the others.
Larger was a bit of an understatement, because the vaguely humanoid creature was the size of a building, and monstrously fat. The very ground shook with each of its ponderous steps, jiggling its flabby flesh.
Pale gray, corpse-like skin was stretched tight over a near bursting stomach, but its head was the most horrifying aspect. Small beady eyes squinted out from above a giant lamprey mouth.
As Mike watched, the creature bent over slightly, scooped a few of the lesser demons up with a big, meaty hand, and tossed them into it's revolting maw.
"Well, that's disturbing. I suppose we should deal with that first?" He asked the woman.
As he looked back to her, he noticed that she was staring fixedly at the creature's mouth, trembling slightly.
"Yes," she said in a husky voice, "we definitely need to deal with that first."
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