「 episode 1; arc 1.1 」 —the final piece//lost mystic—「 yeojin i 」

I was really hoping I’d be used to seeing them by now, but they’re still…unnerving.

The wind howled with a piercing sound, making her hair sway with a gust from behind as she looked ahead. Her brows furrowed. With a grimace, she sighed in exhaustion as they approached.

Four, yeah? I’ve dealt with more passengers than this at once. I took down twenty once, didn’t I? It was twenty, wasn’t it? Maybe it was five. Just miscounted by fifteen, that's all. Completely understandable.  Still, that was more than this. So I’m fine. This is fine.

Despite confirming the count, she eyed each one again just to make sure. One, two, three, four. Four of those monstrosities gazing at her with their featureless faces from down the empty street. Vacant office buildings and storefronts closed them in on both sides. Abandoned vehicles filled the void of space between her and them. It eased her worries in the most minuscule way possible, which was better than nothing.

She felt her spine crawl with an uncomfortable shiver as the four of them each took one step forward. They staggered one after the other, their motions barely out of sync in a sort of organized discord. Their blank heads twisted and turned in an unpredictable fashion as their limbs shook uncontrollably. They would strike soon. She knew this much by now.

Breathe, Yeojin. You’re a mystic. They’re passengers. Stupid dolls made of plastic. This is a good matchup. You’re paper, they’re rock. No, wait, you’re scissors and they’re paper. That sounds cooler, yeah. Who willingly picks paper, anyway? Okay. Breathe. Breathe…

Following her own instructions, Yeojin collected herself and inhaled deeply. She felt doubt and anxiety flush out of her mind as fresh air filled her lungs. Another series of disjointed, frenetic steps from the passengers down the road came about in response, the glossy plastic of their mannequin bodies reflecting the sunlight from above. With every inch closer they came, Yeojin could see their ghostly white auras intensifying.

They were gathering ether. Their assault was imminent.

Extending her arms down to her sides, Yeojin slowly exhaled.

Feel it. Collect it.

Around her body, a thin mist of a dust-like substance began to coalesce. Jade green in color, the majority of it shifted to her hands as it continued to increase in density.

Manipulate the ether. Form the circle. Connect the runes.

Beneath her, a circular outline of ether collected. It manifested into a shining green circle, shapes and letters within it quickly forming as an array of lines danced within it.

Visualize it. The handle. Take shape. The steel. The edges. They’re mine. They answer to me.

In her hands, they began to materialize—a pair of daggers roughly a foot in length each. Hilts made of fine black leather spawned first. The cross-guard followed, and then the blade: double-edged, both sides so sharp that their appearance betrayed the history of their usage.

Down the middle of the blades, various symbols and letters that seemed almost hieroglyphic in nature were etched into the steel, similar in appearance to the ones in the circle beneath her. As her weapons constructed themselves to completion, the runes on the blades began to glow green. Mirroring this, Yeojin’s left eye began to wash over with the same hue, the color overwriting her dark brown iris.

Sensing a change in the atmosphere, the passengers froze for a moment. As Yeojin began to walk towards them, a blast of wind came from behind her, flowing down the street and pushing them away slightly. She remained unfazed, her posture and stroll entirely unaffected by the growing storm of raging air currents behind her.

Alright, boys. What do you have for me today?

Their bodies beginning to convulse erratically, the ether around the passengers started to shift towards different body parts. One of them redirected a dense mass of ether around their right arm, turning the appendage into a sword. What was initially soft plastic became as hardened and sharpened as her own daggers, the ether transforming the substance that composed its arm.

Expected that. Way too common.

Another had ether collected around their left arm, and in no time at all, the plastic limb contorted disturbingly like clay until it expanded and hardened into the shape of a shield.

Shields are boring. I'll have to subtract points for that.

The passenger behind the first two split its ether between both arms, both body parts twisting inwards until they formed long, lashing thorny whips.

Whoa, alright. Calm down, Mr. Fantastic. Haven't seen one opt for that kind of weapon in a minute…

The final one, in an even bigger surprise to Yeojin, concentrated its ether towards its hand. The substance swelled up in volume until it sunk into its palm, creating what looked like the barrel of a gun as its fingers fell to the floor.

Oh, are you serious, dude? The hand cannon? Again? That's the fourth one this week! Ugh, what a pain in the . Sorry, man, but like usual, you're a high priority target.

Halting her approach, Yeojin swapped one of her daggers to her other hand to reach into her pocket. Pulling out a smartphone and a pair of headphones, she connected them and fitted one into her right ear.

Anyway, can't be on my feet for this one…

The turbulent winds that had been raging behind her collected around her in a visible jade cyclone. Coming together above her head, they then diverted into two streams down her sides, settling in by her white and red tennis shoes. With a light hop, Yeojin landed on two plates of streamlined currents beneath her feet, lifting her off the ground a few inches.

Finding her second earbud unnecessary, she set her music player to shuffle and lightly smiled to herself as she slotted her phone into the back pocket of her denim jeans.

Okay. Hopefully this doesn't take longer than a couple of songs.

In the following instant, Yeojin was propelled forward by the currents beneath her feet.

She rode the wind like a deft ice skater, weaving around a four-door sedan in the way as the passengers down the road broke into a mad sprint forward. The awkward movements and jerky tremors of their bodies had vanished, now acting like regular human bodies possessed. They dashed with perfect form, the lack of life within them and ether surrounding their bodies allowing them to ignore limits of stamina.

The mannequin fitted with a blade leapt first, launching forward with a leap and its sword arm reared back. Nearing Yeojin, it slashed downwards with an explosive amount of force. Gliding forward as the passenger descended upon her, Yeojin didn’t so much as make any attempt to dodge—rather, she continued forward towards the other three as a sphere of wind ether quickly materialized to the left of the airborne passenger. A glowing circular crest similar to the previous came to life in front of her, moving with her as she quickly cleaved it from top to bottom with a dagger.

The moment the runic circle was severed, the sphere exploded outwards with a fierce gust of gale force winds. The sword armed passenger was tossed like a ragdoll towards the sidewalk, crashing through the display window of a decades old hair salon. Free to continue her charge, Yeojin barreled towards the cannon equipped mannequin. The air skates beneath her feet picked up speed as they spun more furiously.

From behind, the shielded one ran after her, going for what Yeojin could only imagine to be a full body shield bash. Nearing her target, she couldn’t help but smirk slightly as it raised its weapon up. It took clear aim at her as gray ether rapidly coalesced into a pulsating sphere of energy in the cannon's barrel.

Playing a dangerous game of chicken which she knew she could win, Yeojin challenged the cannoneer and contested it, not breaking her focused approach on him. She maintained speed until it gave in first, letting loose the ether it had gathered. With impressive reaction time, Yeojin lowered her body into a knee slide, the wind beneath her shoes moving up her legs and expanding into a blanket to protect herself from being skinned by friction.

The sphere of ether flew clean over her head, now barreling towards the shielded unit which was running behind her. It barely had time to raise its shield. Unable to fully prepare a proper defensive stance, the passenger was subjected to heavy knockback of its ally's projectile. Sliding several yards down the road, it suffered a nasty crash into the side of a pickup truck.

Now beneath the legs of the shooter, Yeojin sliced another magic circle in two as it appeared to the left of her. With that cut, the blanket of wind beneath her expanded outwards, encompassing the area underneath her and the passenger. It then blasted upwards, catapulting both of them several stories high.

With no close range capabilities to speak of and far away from the assistance of its friends, the passenger was helpless as Yeojin grabbed it by the neck. Spinning around so she was above it while they neared the apex of their ascent, Yeojin pierced deep into its chest with a of one of her blades. Writhing madly, the mannequin’s torso split open as Yeojin drove her dagger downwards and then to the side, opening a cavity in its hollow chest.

Where a person’s heart would’ve been, a small, jagged crystal colored dark gray was suspended by a web of dense ether within the passenger’s body. Grabbing the crystal, Yeojin’s descent was stalled as air currents formed beneath and behind her, keeping her airborne while her foe succumbed to gravity. As it fell, the web of ether stretched and stretched until the motionless passenger crashed into the concrete below. Smashing into pieces, the crystal broke free of its prison as the ether dissipated.

“Figured by now you guys would’ve adapted better to me zeroing in on your ranged support,” Yeojin spoke up to no one in particular, amusing herself as she pocketed the crystal. “Well, Mr. Shield at least tried, I guess. Anyway, the next ugly I should probably take care of is—”

Thorns digging into Yeojin’s leg cut her trash talking short. Looking to her right, she saw that the vined passenger had relocated to a nearby rooftop. Standing at its edge, its arm was extended fully, latching onto Yeojin tightly. Before she could react, she was flung downwards face-first at a breakneck speed.

Nearing the pavement, Yeojin closed her eyes as especially potent winds rushed upward from below her. Her momentum stalled, she opened her eyes again as her body was surrounded by a perceptible storm of verdant ether. The winds at her command quickly flipped her back over before collecting into an orb between her back and the ground. To her relief, the stubborn passenger that was still still latched onto her refused to let go.

“I’ll just come to you, then!”

A runic circle of a noticeably bigger size than the previous ones materializing in front of her, Yeojin slashed through it with both of her daggers in a cross shape. As it was cut through, the sphere of wind beneath her increased exponentially in size before discharging with a great force, launching Yeojin back up into the air. Still anchored to her assailant as she careened into the sky, she continued to ascend until she was well above the passenger. It looked up at her from below, tilting its head as if its nonexistent mind was curious about her.

Come on. Take the bait.

Yeojin's wish was granted as her enemy quickly yanked its arm down with a hefty amount of force, dragging the young girl down to earth quickly. A playful smile showed itself on her face as the distance was closed.

When she was a few feet above it, Yeojin's hair and ped hoodie flapped wildly as an exceptionally strong series of winds swept around her body, flipping her over vertically. The force of her sudden movement proved to be greater than the weakening hold the mannequin had on her as it suddenly found itself airborne, launched upwards and behind Yeojin with intense power. When it was positioned properly, Yeojin ran a dagger through the vines attached to her leg—not as hardened as the rest of its plastic body due to its malleable nature, a swift cut severed the limb without issue.

Losing its anchor to her, the passenger flew off at a dangerously high speed, crashing into a high rise tower several blocks down.

"Maybe I'll get your core later if I care enough for it," Yeojin made a mental note to herself as a gentle breeze held her steady, allowing her to land safely with both feet on the rooftop. "Now, what are Tweedledee and Tweedledum up to?"

Walking over to the edge, Yeojin scanned the street until she saw them. The sword-bearing and shield-bearing passengers had recollected themselves, standing side by side and looking straight up at her. Yeojin relaxed her shoulders, sighing lightly with a shake of her head as her stomach turned. "Need to find some food soon…gonna have to try to make this quick."

Jumping off the building, Yeojin made a steady descent carried by her winds. Touching down on the pavement again, she approached the two mannequins casually. Currents gathered and amplified behind her as she came close, but they stopped as she noticed something…strange.

"What the hell…?"

Not reacting to her approach, the two passengers looked at each other. With an eerie sort of calmness, the sword-armed doll grabbed the other's shoulder with its free hand and brought its bladed appendage up to its chest. Without warning, it violently forward, piercing its comrade halfway through its sword.

Its empty shell of a torso ripped wide open, Yeojin felt a wave of unease come down upon her as the passenger reached into the open cavity it had created. It pulled out the crystal core that gave it false life, causing the shielded passenger to start shaking violently. Its body began to fall apart as its effective heart was removed. The web of ether that connected the crystal to it promptly fizzled out and vanished as the doll fell to the ground in pieces.

"Hey! Wasn't that your friend? What're you doing?!"

Knowing full well her words would get no response from the mindless monster, Yeojin still couldn't stop herself from crying out in confusion as she witnessed the remaining passenger tilt its head down. It stared at the gray crystal in its hand. Slowly, it raised its head to her. With an uncomfortable tilt of its head, it forcefully closed its fist and crushed the crystal to pieces.

Immediately, Yeojin was pushed back as an immense aura of ether began to radiate from the passenger's body. Bringing her arms up in front of her face, she summoned winds to push her forward from behind as she planted her feet. Sandwiched between its insanely powerful surge of energy outwards and her currents behind her, she fought to keep her small frame from being flung away.

"Since when do they…get this strong?!"

Looking up, Yeojin felt a fearful unease settle into her mind as a mass of ether coalesced in front of the passenger. Putting its free hand into the dusty cloud of ether, its entire arm ruptured with energy as it took the same form as the comrade it betrayed—it was now properly equipped with both a sword and a shield. Its aura slowly began to diminish, but not before the plastic material of its body began to change. The normally dark gray hue it was painted with was gradually washed over with a sinister shade of crimson.

Its forceful waves of might finally ceasing, Yeojin's winds stopped themselves as she took a deep breath. This wasn't normal. But more importantly, as the passenger returned to its combat ready self with its body no longer jerking erratically, this wasn't good.

"Hey, buddy, you level up or something?" Yeojin shouted, trying to calm her nerves and buy time as she thought of how best to handle a now more serious threat. "Can you put your new ability points into your speech stat so you can explain why you just killed your teammate? Friendly fire isn't even !"

Yeojin's grip on her weapons tightened as the beast took a single step forward. On a factor beyond its predecessors, its intent to kill was almost palpable.

"Easy, easy. I get it, alright? I'll just turn around and—"

Yeojin was given no such opportunity as the passenger leapt down the street with almost incomprehensible speed, closing the gap between her and itself in the blink of an eye. Repeating the same maneuver it attempted before, it was poised to descend with a downward slash. The speed of its movements were now far too enhanced for Yeojin to properly evade, however, leaving her to only inhale sharply as gale force winds attempted to push it back.

As if it had anticipated her defensive play, the passenger brought up its shield arm and ducked beneath it. The decrease in its velocity minimized, it was able to continue through with its swing. Touching down on the ground as its blade came downward, Yeojin was left with only a quick sidestep as her final option.

She wasn't fast enough.

She gasped for air as the sharpened sword arm struck her, the left sleeve of her hoodie being ripped open. The force of the strike launched her backwards, tossing her into the side of a broken down minivan.

Standing up slowly, Yeojin held her arm, breathing through her teeth as she examined her wound. The clean cut through the fabric of her hoodie had also slashed through the short sleeve of her black t-shirt underneath. Beneath that, the skin of her arm from her shoulder to her elbow was sliced open with a gash that was bleeding steadily.

Excruciating discomfort coursed through Yeojin's body as she leaned against the side of the vehicle, grimacing as she looked up. The passenger slowly approached her, the eyes it didn’t have piercing her with a murderous gaze.

"Yeah, no funny jokes or witty comebacks for this one, Yeojin," the wounded girl said to herself after another pained breath. "Can't do much to save face from a ing plastic doll doing you in like this…"

Closing her eyes as it took another step forward, Yeojin attempted to muster what strength she could. She could move her arm, but not as quickly as she would need to in order to fight. The winds around her were more of a breeze than anything else—her breathing wasn't steady enough to control them properly. This was only partly due to her injury; an encroaching sense of dread that multiplied with every inch closer the passenger came to her was making it difficult to stay calm.

"Twenty years isn't a bad run, I guess. That's a fifth of a century," Yeojin muttered to herself with a weak laugh, staggering backwards as the blood red monster stepped forward. "That's probably worth something, right?"

Her backwards stride coming to a halt as she tripped over the curb of the sidewalk, Yeojin fell onto the concrete with her back against the brick wall of a café. Looking up, her mind raced as she tried to formulate some sort of potential escape plan that she could pull off. She came up blank, shaking her head to herself as her body shivered.

The mannequin stepped up onto the sidewalk, standing above her for a moment. Unable to bring herself to stare into its face void of emotion, Yeojin closed her eyes.

Mom…

"Get up, kid."

What…?

Looking up with opened eyes, Yeojin scrambled backwards along the sidewalk. Her heartbeat skyrocketed as the woman spoke to her again.

"I know you heard me. Your legs are fine, so get up already!"

Her body processed the instructions before her mind processed the situation. Her weakened winds proving just enough to lift her, Yeojin flew back a small distance as she blinked in surprise.

"Who are you…?"

Before her, a woman over a head taller stood. Her black boots were firmly rooted in place as she held off the mannequin's weapon. She was equipped with what Yeojin could only call a greatsword. The sword itself was single-edged and almost as tall as the woman herself. Decorated with a long series of runes all over the blade, the flat edge of it had small icicles formed along the side of it.

She held onto the handle tightly with one hand while using the other hand placed on the middle of the steel to push upward, attempting to win over the mannequin in a contest of force. Ignoring Yeojin's inquiry, she remained wordless as she pushed forward. Through brute strength alone, she managed to launch the passenger back a fair distance. It slid to a stop in the center of the road as she took a deep breath.

Yeojin was left awestruck as the woman proceeded to drop her free hand off the sword, now carrying the massive slab of frozen iron with a single hand. Equipped with nothing else but jeans and a black tank top, Yeojin noticed the woman's physique. Her arms had well defined muscles sculpted into them, no doubt the result of consistent physical training.

The woman turned halfway, looking to Yeojin behind her. Her right eye was a shade of light brown mismatched by the icy sky blue of her left eye. "You alright, kid?"

"U-uh…yeah, I'm—"

Yeojin's affirmation proved to be a lie in progress as a wave of pain spread from her arm again. Despite just being saved from the brink of death, she was still in no condition to fight. She took a deep breath, holding onto her arm with a shake of her hand. "Okay, not alright, not alright…"

"Take it easy. Haseul will take care of that."

"Sooyoung!"

Hearing another voice, Yeojin looked behind her to see two more figures approaching from down the street.

Actual people this far out of town…? Are they mystics like her…?

The swordswoman known as Sooyoung turned back around, stepping onto the street and approaching the passenger. "The girl's fine," she called out to the approaching figures. Coming more into view, Yeojin saw that they were women Sooyoung's age. "Look after her, Haseul. Kahei, can you give me a hand with this one? It's enhanced."

"Alright!" the other woman answered in response, continuing forward while the first one ran to the side and approached Yeojin.

"Hey, are you alright? Where are you hurt?" the one Sooyoung called Haseul questioned Yeojin with concern, taking a look at the wound of her left arm. Deeming Yeojin's hoodie to be in the way, Haseul hurriedly began to remove it, causing Yeojin to wince as it was placed in her lap.

As Haseul started to examine her arm, Yeojin took notice of a steady current of wind gathering around the two of them. Knowing full well that it wasn't her handiwork given her current state, Yeojin was dumbfounded as Haseul's left eye washed over with the same verdant hue as her own.

"You guys really are like me, then?" Yeojin asked the older girl, being entirely ignored as she focused on checking her arm. "I didn't expect to run into other mystics, especially an ice mystic and another wind mystic. I've only seen fire and water ones before…"

"This cut isn't the deepest, but I need to purify it," Haseul said, disregarding Yeojin's curiosity. "If too much of that fiend's corrupted mana gets into your manastream, it won't be pretty."

"Mana? Manastream…?" Yeojin parroted, unable to make sense of Haseul's words.

"Right, that's probably not what you call it here," Haseul dismissively said with a shake of her head. "Exactly how much of this was the result of a direct hit?"

Yeojin blinked, her mind finding difficulty processing the question. "I don't…what do you mean?"

"Did your barrier mitigate the attack at all or did it break it before this?"

"B-barrier? Lady, what're you—"

"Did it hit your weakpoint? What was it? They need to know if that fiend is aligned to anything. Kahei!" Haseul suddenly called out, looking behind her. "Where's it placed on the wheel?"

"No alignment," the third woman spoke up from down the road. Coming to a stop behind Sooyoung, she glanced over the passenger with a discerning eye. "It's just neutral mana. No affinity for any element."

"So your barrier was just struck down, then. You weren't able to recharge it?" Haseul commented, concern in her voice doubling over as she looked down at Yeojin's sweater below. "Are the runes on this hoodie? I don't see any on your shirt…"

"I've got no idea what you're talking about!" Yeojin snapped more fiercely than she meant to. "You're not making any sense, lady! I don't know what you mean by barrier! The only runes I know are the ones on my daggers…"

"Really?" Haseul said in surprise, the winds at her command intensifying around them. "You must be a Neophyte sorceress, then. I'm sorry, I should have asked first."

"Haseul, get to higher ground!" Sooyoung shouted from down the street. Holding her greatsword with both hands, she took a ready stance as she brought it up, pointing it towards the passenger. "I don't want you taking enmity from me while you're healing her!"

"Got it!" Haseul called out in response. Standing up, she grabbed Yeojin's hoodie and tossed it over her shoulder. Reaching down, she helped the lightweight girl up and turned around. "Get on my back, okay?"

Doing as she was told, Yeojin looked over to Sooyoung and Kahei. The cold swordswoman was focused on the target in front of her, but Kahei flashed both Haseul and her a small smile before facing the passenger herself.

"They'll be fine," Haseul reassured Yeojin, sensing her worry. "The last people you have to worry about are those two."

"But…that thing, it's—"

Yeojin was interrupted by a furious storm of air currents circling her and Haseul.

Far beyond the speed and intensity of any of her own winds, the wind at Haseul's command was both severe and precisely focused. Forming a very small tornado around them, it dispersed outwards and downwards, rocketing them both up high into the sky. It guided them to a nearby rooftop down the road, settling them by the edge of the building.

Landing safely, Yeojin eased herself to the floor as Haseul came to her left side, kneeling down next to her arm.

"Who are you guys?" Yeojin asked, her eyes fixated on Sooyoung and Kahei below. "Can they really take down that passenger? It's way stronger than the others…"

"Passengers? Is that what you call them here?" Haseul asked with a sort of childlike curiosity. Bringing her right hand up, she extended her index and middle fingers. Yeojin's attention was grasped momentarily as a powerful vortex of wind began to swirl around her two fingers, jade ether becoming incredibly dense at her fingertips. "We call them fiends. Sooyoung and Kahei have a lot of experience taking down all kinds of them."

"Try not to move, okay?" Haseul instructed as the ether at her fingertips began to extend out towards Yeojin's wound. "I need to purify your manastream. After that, I can seal this wound since it thankfully isn't too severe."

"It feels severe," Yeojin whined, still feeling measurable pain coming from her arm.

"How long have you been fighting fiends?"

"A few months, maybe? Three or four…I can’t remember exactly when they exiled me. I've been on my own ever since."

"Exiled?" Haseul repeated, her voice lowering slightly. The mass of ether at her fingertips continued to extend, now making contact with Yeojin's wound. It went further still, sliding through the gash and going into Yeojin's body.

Reflexively, Yeojin shivered slightly, but the feeling was quickly overwritten by a comforting warmth. Like a fast-acting pain killer, the ether at Haseul's control was steadily washing away the pain in Yeojin's arm. With every passing second, Yeojin's breathing returned to normal, and with it, her winds that she grew reliant on returned to her sides. Both her and Haseul's hair swayed lightly as it passed them.

"Why did they exile you?" Haseul asked without breaking her focus. Yeojin felt at ease seeing Haseul tend to her wound. Her short, neatly combed neck-length hair reminded her of…

Her presence…why does it feel like…

"Ah, uh…it's b-because I'm a mystic," Yeojin fumbled on her words briefly as she collected herself. "Most people around here don't want anything to do with us. They think we're the source of the problem. As if it's our fault the passengers started showing up and killing people…"

"An unfortunate similarity that I was really hoping we wouldn't have in common," Haseul murmured with a defeated sigh. The stream of ether between her fingers and Yeojin's arm was starting to turn into a deep shade of gray. "How many universes are like this, I wonder? How many realities are we going to find where elementalism is frowned upon…?"

"Uh, Haseul, was it? What exactly are you talking about?"

"What's your name?"

"Huh? Uh, it's Yeojin," the younger girl introduced herself, her question once again brushed off.

"It's nice to meet you, Yeojin. Can you do me a favor and focus on your breathing for a moment?"

Nodding slowly, Yeojin kept her curious mind at bay and instead redirected her thoughts to her breathing. Turning her head back down towards the road, she gulped slightly upon seeing the crimson passenger on the road below looking up at her.

"Eyes on me," Sooyoung addressed the monster.

To the left of her, ether began to coalesce. Unlike Yeojin's or Haseul's, Sooyoung's ether was light blue in color, matching the hue of her altered eye. The ether collected, becoming more and more dense until it took the shape of a small, jagged icicle. In front of its pointed end, a runic circle materialized, looking almost like a snowflake from afar to Yeojin.

Sooyoung's colored eye glowed for a moment as the icicle suddenly shot forth, breaking the circle through the middle. Shattering, the ether from the circle hastily formed into a line and shot forward as well, following the icicle.

"It's got a shield," Yeojin commented to no one in particular, tilting her head. "A tiny icicle isn't gonna do anything…"

"She's drawing its attention and establishing enmity," Haseul explained, having briefly glanced down below before refocusing on Yeojin's arm.

"Enmity? You don't mean like she's taking aggro, do you? She's…tanking? Like in an MMO?"

"Yeah, pretty much. It's really the best way to describe it. You can blame Jinsol for that one. She was pretty insistent on calling it that. And now, after getting to know Hyejoo a bit, I understand why she got behind it as well. She really loves her video games…"

The icicle was firmly lodged into the surface of the passenger's shield upon contact. As Yeojin predicted, it wasn't effective as an attack. However, she was wide-eyed as the monster's focus had finally shifted away from her.

Slowly, it turned its head to Sooyoung. The stream of ether following the frozen projectile followed through, and on contact with the passenger, it quickly expanded into a thin mist around it. The passenger's stoic form started to break as it was enveloped in the cloud of Sooyoung's ether. Its body jerked in a gradually increasing frenzy, seemingly experiencing some form of pain.

"Don't take too much, Sooyoung," Kahei advised, pushing up her square-rimmed glasses as a breeze of wind rustled her auburn hair. "You don't want to make Haseul have to extract corrupted mana from a second person today."

"Wonder how many of these things we have to take down before you stop worrying about me?" Sooyoung asked with a smirk.

In unison, Sooyoung's tranquil form and the passenger's quivering frame started to glow together. Gray ether came off of the passenger and started to aggregate at the icicle she had shot forward. It traveled down the ether stream between them, coming to Sooyoung who was absorbing it with every breath. With every moment it was being drained of its life force, the mannequin's body continued to twist and contort beyond its control. After its seizure picked up in speed, it abruptly stopped without warning.

"There we go."

Freezing in place, the passenger expelled a massive wave of energy, shattering the icicle in its shield. The wave was strong enough to move some of the vehicles on the road slightly, even dislodging a rusted bus stop sign. As it passed by Sooyoung and Kahei, they remained unaffected by it, not even so much as budging slightly.

Yeojin caught a glimpse of their bodies briefly shining with reflected light, as if they were coated in some sort of glossy paint. In that moment, a large rune on Sooyoung's tank top and a series of smaller ones on Kahei's long sleeved sweater became visible, glowing intensely. When the force exerted by the passenger subsided, the runes vanished into the fabric as if they were never there, and the two girls stopped glowing.

"Tch. Trying to break our shields with just a wave of energy?" Sooyoung said with an insulted scowl. "I really hate when they try to disrespect me like that."

"Still, the fact that it was able to trigger our barriers with that alone means we need to be careful," the quieter girl lectured, her analytical eyes behind her glasses sizing up the passenger. "The mana output of enhanced fiends is—"

"—up to tenfold of normal fiends. I know. I'm a Master sorceress just like you, in case you forgot," Sooyoung reminded her with a playful tone that was teasing more than anything else. Kahei laughed softly in response, but her face straightened again as the passenger's posture equally straightened out.

No longer convulsing uncontrollably, it stood perfectly still. Yeojin felt the same sensation that sent chills down her spine not long ago. It was the same murderous intent.

"Got any ideas, then? Preferably one that involves us cutting that shield off?"

"A few, but with Haseul preoccupied, we're a little limited," Kahei reasoned. Extending an outstretched arm, she opened her hand as a brown runic circle materialized beneath her. In the palm of her hand, ether began to collect—mahogany in color, it grew dense until it rushed outwards, taking the shape of what looked to be a rod.

A soft flash of light went off as it took form in her hands: a metallic staff roughly four feet in length. On top of it sat a glass globe, and within the glass globe a brown crystal was suspended in a cloud of ether. Both the staff and the glass had a mind-boggling amount of runes and symbols cut into them, even more than Sooyoung's greatsword.

"You said this one didn't have an element, right?"

"That's correct. No alignment, neutral mana."

"Then let's go all out, elemental wheel be damned," Sooyoung announced.

Pointing her sword down and rearing it back, she stabbed the concrete at an angle as she breathed in the remaining ash-colored ether surrounding her. With a deep exhale from Sooyoung, a sudden chill took over the city street, reaching high enough that Yeojin found herself shivering uncomfortably.

"Does she really have to make it so cold?!" Yeojin complained, feeling chills crawl all over her. "This kind of weather !"

Silently, Haseul extended her free hand. With an open palm, she took a deep breath as bright red ether began to take shape in her grasp. Yeojin looked towards the ether and gasped slightly as a sphere of flame took shape. Exhaling, the blazing sphere in Haseul's hand flew up just above the two of them before expanding into a ring of flame.

The ring floated back down, surrounding Yeojin and Haseul. Yeojin felt warmth caress her skin once again as Haseul continued to mend her wound. She looked to Haseul with a flabbergasted expression.

"That was…but you're connected to the wind like me. So how did you…?"

"Breathe, Yeojin. Breathe."

Doing so, Yeojin nodded and focused on her breathing once more. Looking back down to Sooyoung and Kahei below, she was taken aback to see that the entire city street had become covered in ice.

"Sooyoung, I don't believe I have to remind you how I'm not proficient with ice," Kahei complained with a sigh. "Is this necessary?"

"Sorry, Kahei. You know how I work when I'm with you and Haseul. You know what to do, right?" Sooyoung teased, looking at her with a playful grin.

"Fine, fine," Kahei gave in, shaking her head with a smile. Looking forward, Kahei lifted her staff to the sky as several mahogany-colored runic circles began to spawn all over the street. As the circles came to completion, the ground around them started to shake with increasing seismic forces.

The crystal encased in Kahei's staff began spinning slowly, stopping as Kahei lightly tapped the floor beneath her with the bottom of her staff. Instantly, streams of her ether from the circles erupted towards the sky. The road began to split into several pieces as pillars of rock and earth shot up from below. They reached up to variable heights, some shorter than Kahei herself and others reaching up a bit above Yeojin and Haseul on the rooftop.

Another circle materialized beneath Kahei, a pillar underneath her slowly rising up to allow her to jump onto the next closest one. Three or four feet in the air above Sooyoung now, Kahei was comfortably perched on her stone tower with easy access to a network of other vantage points which surrounded the passenger.

"I don't really want to try my luck ice skating against a fiend like this," Kahei explained to her comrade below. "You're fine with this formation, right?"

"Even if I wasn't, you've already gone and ruined the delicate planning of hard-working civil engineers," Sooyoung joked with a roll of her eyes, taking in the sight of the fractured road. "The hours they must've spent designing these streets…it's always you Earth-aligned ones, isn't it? No respect for the dead."

"Don't let Hyunjin hear you say that," Kahei said with a smile. The relaxed atmosphere between Sooyoung and Kahei quickly returned to a serious one as the passenger took a step forward. It slid, but only slightly, regaining its posture.

"The floor isn't going to hold it back for long," Sooyoung deduced, pulling her greatsword out of the ground. Taking her stance again, she walked forward with caution. Her steps were delicately calculated, her stride not succumbing to the slippery ice below her. "These damn enhanced ones always adapt so much faster."

"Will you need much more time, Haseul?" Kahei called out towards Haseul and Yeojin below her.

"Her manastream is purified, but I need to seal the wound," Haseul responded. The ether link between her fingers and Yeojin's arms was once again a vibrant verdant hue. Yeojin herself had felt a majority of the pain flush away by now, but there was the lingering sensation of the gash in her arm.

The mass of ether at Haseul's fingertips reformed and expanded into a misty cloud around her ether-covered hand. Stretching her fingers, it settled around her hand as small focused points of it took shape at each fingertip. "It's going to be a few minutes," Haseul said. "Can you handle yourselves?"

An extremely loud noise answered Haseul's question.

It was the cracking of ice as a massive wall of frost a few yards behind Kahei's furthest pillar instantly formed. In the opposite direction, a similar wall practically blinked into existence, icy ether growing so dense that it wildly expanded into a barricade.

The walls extended high up above most of the buildings on the road, effectively trapping the four of them in with the passenger. The top of both formations were spiky, littered with jagged ends pointing to the sky. There was clearly a distinct lack of concern with the formation and presentation of the architectural wonder, proving itself to be more of a show of force than anything else.

Sooyoung looked up to Haseul, giving her a smug smile and lifting an eyebrow in a taunting fashion.

"Okay, Miss Ha Sooyoung, please forgive me and forget I asked," Haseul muttered with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, bringing her attention back to her patient.

Haseul took a steady breath in as she brought her hand closer to Yeojin's wound. Yeojin felt a sudden close warmth as she witnessed the focused ether at Haseul's thumb suddenly transform in color, from green to red. Not only could she control multiple elements, but she could change one into the other…?

"Normally, I'd just get you some antibiotics so I can skip this part, but I don't have any on me right now. I'm going to have to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding and minimize any chance of infection before I stitch it with mana. You need to stay as still as possible, even if it hurts," Haseul softly commanded. "Can you do that for me, Yeojin?"

"O-okay," Yeojin stammered, feeling a strange mix of terrified and amazed. Haseul brought her thumb just above the laceration, producing a whimper from Yeojin.

Keeping her body still, Yeojin endured the burning sensation as Haseul traced the path of the wound all the way down. She repeated the path once, controlling the temperature of the fire at her fingertip and lessening it for the second go. Pulling her thumb back, Haseul transformed the flaming ether back to wind. 

"Stay still," Haseul repeated calmly. A current swirled around her hand briefly, giving shape to a web of ether that took root in the palm of her hand. Spreading her fingers again, they were all connected by zigzagging lines of dense ether between them. "I'm going to stitch it up now."

Wordlessly, Yeojin nodded as Haseul held open the wound, using the ether like a needle. Haseul created various anchor points of dense ether around the wound which sunk into Yeojin's skin before connecting them slowly.

"I had no idea you could use the wind like this," Yeojin admitted, the entire process coming as a surprise to her.

"Air is primarily a healing-based element to begin with," Haseul explained. "It excels in team support and the treatment of wounds."

Yeojin felt more and more of the ever present pain in her arm dissipate as her stitches were sewn. "You mean it's not really meant to be used offensively? Like to fight passengers? I guess I've got it all wrong, then…"

"It's not that you can't or shouldn't use air-based attacks and spells to fight," Haseul clarified. "It's just that the other elements are much more suited for it. The only element less offensively capable than air is light, but light is uncontested when it comes to healing."

"There's a light-based element? I didn't even know that."

"Chaewon can tell you all about it, if you'd like. She's naturally aligned with it, and we're very lucky to have her," Haseul smiled. "There's a lot all of us can teach you."

Yeojin found it difficult to respond. Haseul didn't force the conversation to continue, instead focusing on finalizing Yeojin's operation.

There was a strange feeling bouncing around Yeojin's mind. She was scared to accept it, fearful that things might be too good to be true. The last time she let herself think things would be alright, she…

Mom…

"Looks like the mid-boss is getting ready to attack, Sooyoung."

Kahei's voice brought Yeojin out of her thoughts. She looked down below to Sooyoung and the passenger.

Sooyoung had her body turned to the right, holding her greatsword low to the ground behind her. Her shoulders dropped slightly as her body relaxed. Taking a deep breath, her cold eye glimmered with a blue shine as several runic circles spawned around her. Another chill swept by the area, but Haseul's ring of fire kept Yeojin from shivering too much.

"Why does Jinsol insist on calling them mid-bosses?" Sooyoung inquired in disbelief. "I don't know what's worse, her naming conventions or Archmagus Lee rolling with it."

"Well, whatever. An enhanced fiend, a mid-boss…I really could not give less of a about what you are," Sooyoung stated towards the lifeless creature. The meaning of her words beyond its nonexistent mental capacity, it quietly lifted its sword and shield, planting its feet firmly. Its centralized focus on Sooyoung didn't break as mahogany ether started to coalesce above it.

Increasing in density, Kahei's ether broke apart into smaller clouds before materializing into variously sized stalagmites, the crystal in her staff pulsating with energy. The staff-wielding sorceress kept her breathing steady as she suspended the rocks above the passenger, waiting for Sooyoung's signal.

In a similar fashion, clouds of icy ether surrounded the runic circles that encircled Sooyoung, transforming into an array of icicles behind her. They floated carefully, aimed at the fiend in front of her.

With a focused, determined breath, Sooyoung's eyes narrowed.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."