Pieces of Sonder

Indrek walked past Freya and Botan. His glowing sword blended into the fiery background. Kamdale’s bitter expression intensified. Unlike his previous fight with Freya, Kamdale wasn’t eager to strike first. His eyes darted around, taking in the situation.

Qi and blood still rushed inside Freya’s body. She tensed to run. I should be able to stop him from killing anyone if he runs from Indrek.

While Kamdale was at a clear disadvantage numbers-wise, most opposing him were vulnerable to his qi attacks. Earlier, he had almost defeated Red Star Lightning using qi. Freya glanced back at the guild leader. He was receiving healing from Infamous Biscuit. She noticed Kamdale also look the same direction. 

Freya prepared to spring to intercept. However, Indrek was even quicker. In a flash, the two demoniclasts locked swords. Kamdale’s sword shook against Indrek’s steady blade.

“Kamdale, please. We don’t need to fight,” Indrek said.

“Don’t be so sure you know the outcome!”

Kamdale jumped back, then lunged. The tip of his sword skimmed past Indrek. Unbothered, Indrek parried the flurry of attacks. Taking light, nimble steps, Kamdale circled back and forth, striking whenever an opening appeared. But Indrek blocked each with a flick of the wrist.

Indrek made it look so easy. A twinge of regret ran through Freya. She wished she could have fought against him a little longer. Maybe she would have won. She immediately chided herself. That wasn’t a fight I was going to win. I was lucky to level up my Qi Armor. Even with it, I’m too unskilled and weak.

As Kamdale’s movements became slower, Indrek finally started attacking. Freya wasn’t too familiar with sword fighting, but it seemed like Indrek was trying to disarm or maim Kamdale, not kill him. 

When Kamdale retreated towards the fire, Indrek let him. The latter tried one last time to convince him to surrender.

“Kamdale, you’re a great demoniclast. I don’t want to hurt you. Do you want to give up everything you worked for? At least hear them out. At least hear their explanation for what happened to our hometown.”

“Ha! I don’t need to hear how they destroyed my home. I was there. The gods rewarded me for killing them!”

Suddenly something flickered in Kamdale’s eyes, like an unexpected revelation. He fished something out of his pocket. Clutching it close, he smiled and said, “The gods are on my side. Don’t be deceived, Indrek.”

Kamdale threw a small object at the ground. 

Boom!

Black smoke engulfed Kamdale’s body. The cloud spread out, blanketing the area in darkness. Indrek retreated. Freya stepped forward, already nervous. For a moment, she thought it was some kind of shaman-made potion, but it was far too effective. Damn, Kamdale has game items? What did that do? Where is he?

Searching for any movement in the black smoke, Freya clenched her fists in frustration. 

“Retreat back from the smoke!” she shouted. “I don’t know where he went.”

“He’s gone.”

The archer from Red Star Lightning guild squinted into the smoke. He stood further away than Freya, but he sounded confident. 

“How is that possible?” Freya asked, still staring into the darkness.

She didn’t want to believe the archer. However, he had no reason to lie. His archer class probably gave him better vision than Freya, or perhaps he used a skill. Still, she tensely waited for Kamdale to come charging out of the smoke.

“He must have used a very expensive item,” Red Star Lightning said. He looked to Lady Merlin, “Can you tell the item?”

“I’ll see if my skill can decipher it.”

Pointing his staff at the cloud of smoke, Lady Merlin began mumbling a long spell. Freya edged closer to the wizard just in case Kamdale appeared. She shook her head in confusion, “But how did he know to use a game item? And how did he get it?”

She still couldn’t believe he escaped. They were so close to ending all of this. As the smoke cleared, Freya’s stomach sank. Only the fire blazed. There was nowhere to hide between them and fire. He really was gone.  

Lady Merlin finished his spell. He read something in front of him, then reported to everyone, “A Squid Ink Teleporter item was used. I’ve never heard of it. The description of the item reads, ‘Only use in dire circumstances. This item will help you escape from any situation, even if caught in battle. You will be transported to a random safe city while your opponents will only see darkness.’”

Freya rubbed her temples, despairing, “So he could be anywhere?”

“My spell can’t decipher his destination.”

“That must be an incredibly expensive item,” Infamous Biscuit said. “It’s usually impossible to teleport if you’re engaged in a fight.”

Freya sighed heavily, “He probably picked it up from some player he killed. It is ironic. For all his cursing of us having weird powers, he used those powers himself.”

“It’s not a demonic power. It’s a gift from the gods,” Daveth spoke up.

Everyone glared at the demoniclast tied on the ground. Daveth had a nasty gash to his sword arm, but he was still spirited. He writhed against his bonds, “The gods foresaw this and gave him a way to escape.”

Freya wanted to sigh again. One of the guild members laughed, “So I guess the gods didn’t care about you then?”

“I hope he isn’t causing trouble wherever he is,” Indrek said, looking at the last wisps of smoke.

“We will look for him,” Freya assured him. “But first, we need to settle the trouble here.”

The fire set by Lady Merlin was burning out of control on the wide-open grassland. Plus, there were still demon bison that escaped from the dungeon on the other side of the fire. Luckily they were far away from the nearest civilians but left alone, the demons would kill anyone in their path.

“Yes, we need to settle the trouble here,” Red Star Lightning echoed. However, he didn’t look towards the demons or the wildfire. He stared down Indrek. “You’re a demoniclast. How can we be sure you won’t turn into an error and kill us?”