Gone, I

"There ya go!" I sighed as I dropped Sean on the couch of a restaurant.

"Sorry for the trouble…" Seren trailed off while looking a little troubled.

"No, it is all right. But still, who would've thought that Sean would be able to use a Transcendental Spell after having his rune for only over 3 months… This guy has a knack for magic."

"Yeah, I'm also surprised… But we still can't beat you…" Seren began to sulk.

"You don't have to worry about that. It's just that I have spent a lot of time training, and you guys are all new to this supernatural thing. While for me, it's as natural as breathing or walking. You will soon catch up to me!" I tried to calm Seren's worries with a gentle smile.

"Oh, uh, yeah… I'll do my best…" She continued speaking with that quiet tone.

Hmm, now that was a magnificent reaction, I love it.

"Okay, should we go now?" I asked the long-awaited question now.

"Hehe, let's get on with it!" She had a mischievous look on her beautifully aligned face features as she said that.

"Woohoo, 'Uncovering Secret' plan- begin!" I said that with a downward swing of my outstretched hand as if announcing the start of a boxing match.

***

The time right now is five-twenty-three in the afternoon, Luke left about one hour and a half from now. So are there any clues to where he might be?

Seren answered while touching her upper lip as if she was rubbing her non-existent mustache "Oh, I think I might know where he might've gone to. I saw him go into the woods at the downslope when we came here yesterday. He might be there again!"

"Oh my, thank you for the information, detective Serdumb!" I acted surprised and thankful for the input Seren gave me.

She retorted at the nickname I gave her "Hey! My name is detective La--Seren, yeah Detective Seren!" Seren almost slipped up and gave her real name, I see… It starts with La, huh?

"Okay, so right now, we're at the top of the downhill."

How could we be any luckier? I thought immediately after confirming the location.

"True…?" Seren agreed with me as if confused and tilted her head.

She continued, "How did we get here?"

"Huh? Maybe it's just a coincidence?" I replied to her.

"Yeah, it might be! Now let's move on!" Seren went back to her hyper self.

We started moving.

Step.

Step.

Step.

I spoke, "It's really quiet, isn't it?"

She replied, "Yeah, it is. Maybe everyone went to places to eat dinner or maybe home?"

"Might be so." I agreed

…

IT'S SO AWKWARD!

What's with this tension, there is snow around us and falling, the light poles are making the streets shine, and the houses are beautifully decorated with colorful lights.

I can see a little snowman there at that house on the right side of the road, there are no cars, no people walking by.

It's like there's only us two in this world.

I noticed I was so lost in thoughts that I was left behind. Seren's shapely back, covered by her winter coat was in front of me now.

I was in the space between the last light pole and the one in front of me.

She was just under the light. She turned back to look at me. Each and every single feature of her is being showered in a luminescent reflection from snow and the lamp glow.

It was like a scene from a movie with dozens of beauty effects… But this is real. Is this even my reality?

She smiled, her beautiful shining face, shining even brighter now, "Wh-t –re yo- do-ng, ge—ing –ost in thou-ht like that?" I couldn't hear her. It was all muffled… I was dazzled and captivated by this delicate woman that I live with.

"Seren!" I called out to her.

"Yeah?" She replied while still smiling.

"I, I… Ever since we first met…" I tried to say the words that were tightening my insides.

"I've always lo-- Watch out!!" I screamed trying to alert her from the danger that was closing in on her.

***

"Watch out!" I yelled out towards her, though, it seems my body had already moved.

"Ugh!" Seren squealed after being pushed by me, and in the next instant, I was blown six meters away by an attack.

"Ghuu, hah, hah, shit! What's going on?!" I barked, frustrated at the unexpected occurrence.

After that, I tried to alert the luminescent lightened woman that was saved by me, "Seren, run away, there are multiple people here!"

"What?! No, I'm not running away!" She replied in the same tone.

Come on, please, just run away… I don't want you to be endangered. I thought to myself as impatience filled me.

"Hurry Elias, we'll run away together, let's go!" The girl started running towards me and helped me gain my standing again.

"Thanks… But we're surrounded…" I trailed off while I informed her of our situation, and continued, "We have no other way but to fight here. I don't know who they are and what they want, but they surely know how to use magic."

"So, what do I do? I am resolved to fight." She questioned me with a fierce look in her raven, slit eyes.

"Cloak your body with mana, watch my back and we'll try to knock every single one out, not kill," I told her what to do and gave her the limit to how far she can take it

"Though, it is all right if you break their legs, arms, and fingers." I scoffed with a smirk slipping out on my face.

Sigh. I guess it's going to be a little difficult, my arms almost got shattered that instant… Thank god I instinctually used super augmentation at that moment! But this was the second time I used Transcendental magic, my body is already suffering from backlash.

"The numbers?" Now located in the rear, she asked how many people there were. I narrowed my eyes and started to inspect the forest surrounding me.

After getting hit earlier, I got thrown out of the road, currently where Seren is guarding the road, and in front of me are the trees with snow getting covered in the night shadows.

After four seconds of looking around, I closed my eyes and focused on the fluctuating mana. Its movement was a little erratic around six trees in the woods and I could feel an unfocused amount of it across the road.

'Ah damn it, there are no buildings here, no cars, and not a single being passing through. We're in such a secluded place even though we were at the center of the city just twenty minutes ago.'

"There are about six people in the forest, and it was pretty vague but I feel like there should be more than 7 people by your side. In other words, we're in quite a pinch now."

"Yeah-hiya!" As Seren was affirming my words, a fireball was flying toward her, but that attack was rendered useless after she conjured a waterball to counter it.

With that, the start of this battle was confirmed as over ten people started to march towards us.

"Switch!" I called out to make a switch of places with my partner in this fight.

We supported each other with our backs and after we changed our positions we also started our attack on the enemies.

"Hmph!" I started holding my breath as I jumped and swung my fist at one skinny-looking boy.

"Ugh!" He fell unto the snow, unconscious.

Another guy was approaching.

I pivoted on my left winter boots' heel, and with my right leg, I charged toward the air. He evaded it, but in the next instant, my left leg was in aptitude which soon came to contact with his face. Meaning that two of eight people I was engaged in, were knocked out.

I heard the whistle of a blade closing in. I jumped to my left, where an enemy was moving toward me. But there was still enough distance, and so I flipped, gained my standing, and threw my right fist out in a curve to his left temple.

"Gh--" He couldn't even express his pain after I swung my left leg at his lower ribs. And so, another one lost consciousness.

"Three down. Is that all you got, are you all actually weak? One scrawny guy and a girl are beating over ten of you guys." I scoffed and tried to discourage them.

I gazed over at Seren at this moment, she was managing pretty well. She had already beaten over four guys on her side.

"Shut up--!" An overweight guy barked and lashed at me. I stopped moving and analyzed him instead.

Posture: Not balanced. Martial Arts: Probably never trained. Movement: over wasted.

There isn't a single thing that makes this guy good enough to make him join you in a fight. He shouldn't be here, I thought to myself.

In the next instant, I sped up my steps, slid in the snow, and with my mana-cloaked legs, I shattered both of his ankles.

Crk-Crack-Crckk

Crackling noises were heard as he fell into the snow headfirst. After three seconds he started screaming as he tried to get up.

"Khu, gh, what, huh, ah? Aaaah, th-the-they're brokeennn, aahh ahha, help, it hurts, it huuuuurts!" He kept going on and on, screaming, calling for help, crying from pain, snot, and saliva covering most of his face.

Well, of course, it would hurt. His bones are visible to the bare eye right now… I shrugged.

"I see, you all are truly pathetic." I started to try and dishearten them again.

"Four down now, look, it is four against one, so why don't you blindly charge now?" I smirked as I gave them a creepy stare, yeah, probably one of a killer about to hunt his prey.

"Let's get this over with, all four of you!" I scoffed once more as I charged in towards them this time.