C6: Thy Fire, Thy Flame!

"How far do we have to go? It's almost nightfall... The nightmares will arrive soon." Alan asked Elijah as they walked through the streets of the village.

The sun was going down and the night was falling in. All the elven mothers carried their children back to their houses and shelters where they are safe from the nightmares.

And soon... Only those three were left on the roads.

"Are you listening to me!? The nightmares will come! I can't fight them using these useless skills!" Alan screamed out again. He was frightened now. He had lost all the powers he gathered from the ground up, so there was no way he can battle in this situation.

"Just wait you fool! Don't be such a bastard... I'm here. I can take care of any nightmare." The big sister roared with pride.

'Such arrogance...' the boy shook his head. But amongst them all, the truly powerful one was behind. Winry did not seem like she can do much until you get to see her out on the battlefield.

"Travel closer to me..." Winry whispered to Alan as she moved a little closer to the boy. Alan turned around to see what was going on.

"Why? Are you scared?"

"No... I can protect you."

Alan raised his eyebrow and looked at the little girl. "You—

[Level: 900]

[Rank: Legend]

Alan's jaw dropped when he saw what her level was. All this time he hadn't noticed it. The immense amount of mana was coming from the little girl.

"Ha— how? How!? How did you level up so much!?" Alan asked from the girl, utterly astonished. Not only was she a legend, but she was level 900.

Even within his castle, he hadn't seen such power before. When Winry saw the astonished Alan, she reddened a bit. In her mind, something else was going on.

'Is he that impressed?' Winry asked herself, her face going red.

"Hey... Sadist girl. Better give this chain to your sister. Seems like she's capable of taking better care of my life than you..." Alan said to Elijah with a vicious grin on his face.

"Bastard! Who are you calling sadist!" Elijah pulled the chain, almost making the tight chain snap Alan's neck. "F-Fu! I — I can't breathe..." Alan struggled just to catch a breath.

-

-

The moon was finally up and the streets were only lit by the lamps and the bright lights that escaped the windows of the houses.

"Are we there yet?"

"No!" Elijah answered the boy, bad-tempered as always. Alan was hanging close to the little sister just in case anything happens. He was truly impressed. 'She must be truly talented!' He thought.

The cold grew and a dark mist appeared from the muddy ground. But none of the three noticed this. It was strange.

The silence grew. And the frightening feeling stroke the heart of the three walking in the middle of the village. A cold and chill breeze blew from the west, sweeping through the streets of the village, and humming across every window.

"Hear that?" Alan asked from the girls, instantly looking back. He saw the darkness... Slowly growing. He had faced more nightmares than he could ever count. And he hadn't lost any of those times, so a part of him was not scared. But the part that knew his powers were gone... Was frightened to death.

"The silent whispers..." the little sister spoke with a calm and unnerving tone. She suddenly stood a little more closer to Alan, covering him from behind.

"The nightmares are approaching!"

The nightmares... Creatures that are born from the souls of the dead. As the villagers say, people who died in agony, pain, and disgrace are nightmares. They exist in different shapes and types... Depending on what kind of feeling the person had died with.

And this nightmare was a 'Type Mist.'

"Type mist, and from the mana I feel, this must be at least a grade 4 nightmare!" Winry alerted the two behind him.

Elijah raised her hand and said; "Summon my bow!"

With a bright flash in her hand, a bow appeared. She grasped the bow and quickly took an arrow from the sack in her back, arming the bow.

"I'm ready..." the big sister said.

"Don't pull the arrow... I can take care of it," Winry warned the two in the back. She stepped forth and raised her hand. Her personality changed instantly... And only then did Alan know that she was a brave one too.

"That is a fourth-grade nightmare... Can you truly handle it... Winry?" The boy asked from her. Suddenly, Winry blushed and hid her face. She drew up her hood and murmured.

"Yes — yes! I can..." her voice suddenly trembled. Alan smiled from the corner of his mouth and stepped backward, putting his trust in the girl. The wind that blew was finally settling.

And suddenly, the dark mist started to pour in from the damp and muddy ground too. Alan would know what kind of a situation they were in... And he knew that they were surrounded.

"Huh... He's... Surrounding us! Winry... Better do it quickly!" Alan declared to the little sister. But there was no movement. She didn't do anything.

The cold and chill wind finally came once more, passing through the windows and the houses. And this time... All of the lights that had the street lit up went out.

Every candle, every lamp, and every lantern that lit up the night was out.

"Ugh... I —" Alan wanted to react but could do nothing except stare at the endless darkness in front of him. He could only see Winry's white hair glowing in the darkness.

"Hush....." a whisper went by, resounding through the streets. Alan did not have any useable weapon that he's used to... But he did have a common wand.

"Unlock wand..." Alan whispered, summoning his wand to his hand.

"Hush...." another couple of whispers went by. "Fuck! It's near! Winry, get it!" Alan yelled to Winry, raising his wand to do something... At least.

"Hush..."

The dark mist settled once more. The whole village was silent. It was an inhuman silence.

Suddenly, there was a shattering sound in the front.

"Ha! Got ya!"

It was Winry's voice. She instantly raised her right arm, chanting something as she did so. Alan jumped back, but his gaze was on the beast.

Two glowing red eyes appeared in the midst. It was the only visible part of the beast that was covered in a dark mist.

Suddenly, the eyes darted towards the two sisters and the boy. Elijah released the arrow but her attack had no effect. The arrow went right through the mist, and the darting eyes did not halt.

"Thy Fire! Thy Blaze!" Winry suddenly chanted a spell, and at the tip of her raised hand, a huge orb of fire formed.

"Level 900! Ultimate Fire Beam!" The girl yelled as she pointed her hand at the two glowing eyes, darting towards them. A huge beam of fire shot out from her hand, incinerating the nightmare that darted towards her.

The mist slowly sank back to the damp earth, depicting the defeat of the nightmare. "Phew... that was close —"

"Damn you're amazing..." Alan said with an astonished tone, gazing at the girl, dumbfounded. Winry looked at the boy and her cheeks went pink.

"Good work Winry!" Elijah yelled from the back, stealing the attention of her little sister, unintentionally. "Now... Let's start moving! Our hideout... Is right there."