Okay, Crimson... Think... Let's survey the area and see what the hell were our options in this fucked up situation...Peeking out of the foliage, our current position was one of relative safety at the very least. Foliage all around, albeit kind of dry in terms of temperature and humidity. The camps were firmly in the center of a clearing surrounded by dry forest, counting to at least ten to fifteen campfires interspersed throughout the area. The surrounding forest connected to our current hiding spot; forming a circle of treeline around the proverbial death zone, while our apparent end target according to Livia was on the opposite side of the clearing which I could actually see was a real path complete with a trail...Okay? Now what?"Can't we just follow the tree line and avoid all of this entirely?" I whispered out."
Like a wasp hive that got unceremoniously disturbed, the soldiers quickly came out of their revelry as I heard them immediately swarm our position. While I couldn't tell how many or how far they were in virtue of the tent's remains blocking our vision, I could still tell from the sound of boots on the ground that it was not just a substantial amount."Identifiez-vous!" What sounded like a stereotypical French dude shouted at us from outside the tent. I could already tell from the tone that he was far from happy with our current arrangements. "Sortez et rendez-vous!""What're they saying, Sis?" Livia whispered behind me."I have no idea."I could probably infer what the hell they were saying through what few loan words I knew, but other than that and their tone, I had absolutely no clue on whatever the fuck they were say
"Sis?!""Just stick close and watch our backs!"Running into yet another dead end with Not-French soldiers following in our wake, I swung the Firebrand at some of the soldiers that got too close for comfort while Livia covered for me. The cacophony of noise and activity around us was at an all-time high; our enemies constantly shouting 'ecume imperiale' at us like it was gonna stop us from running away."Arrêter!" a soldier screamed at us as as soon as we saw him at the end of a corner. "Vous ne vous éloignerez jamais de nous!""Fucking shit..." I cursed under my breath as I immediately backpedaled. "Livia?!""We can't!" my sister shouted from behind me, our backs against each other as we methodically got sandwiched between two enemy detachments. "They're behind us as well!"
"How about no, Madame?!"Turning the fuck around, I pulled Livia by the arm as we sprinted the hell away from whatever it was that this chick could do. If she was an earth Num, then surely she'd need to use that saber of hers to do something as large as that gigantic hole she just made. It'll take time for her to catch us so long as-*RUMBLE!*"What the fuck!?""Sis?!- Ooof!"Livia collided against my back as I stopped in my tracks. My eyes felt like they were about to come out of their sockets as I stared at the thing blocking our path. It was impossible, right? This shouldn't be possible...A wall of leaves and flowers utterly blocked us from retreating further."W-what is that..." Livia whispered behind me as I let go of her hand.
C-Cinq surccuu- what? Third Branch? What the hell did that all even mean?!"Speechless? You savages are usually so full of themselves whenever I do this," the newly-named Jospehine de Tourniquet hung her head in false exasperation as she seemingly shook her head at us. "Surely you have heard of the... Five Branches... if I'm translating this to your inferior language correctly..."While all of this was going on to her own fucking convenience, the wicked branches never stopped being heat-seeking missiles for us as they continued their warpath for our blood. The first few rays of the sun revealed the branches' light brownish color and red-tinged tips, but that didn't change the fact that Livia and I were still fighting for our fucking lives here!"Five... Branches?!" I panted out just as I deflected yet another rock-hard branch with my blade. "What t
My legs moved quietly as I exited the foliage; fully expecting that the woman's guard was down due to her obviously large hubris. Her back was still turned as I slowly approached."Give up!" Josephine called out, a tinge of hatred coloring her tone. "Accept your betters!"Her thick accent didn't faze me as I made myself small behind her. I was in stabbing range right now, and if there was any a time for me to do this, then now was the fucking time.Rearing my sword back for a stab, I held my breath as I quickly thrust the sword straight onto her back-*THUD!*What the-"Did you honestly think I never felt you coming, Numérateur?"My eyes widened as a wall of branches suddenly appeared between her and my blade. The Firebrand lod
The world exploded in a flurry of splinters."Grab on!"Letting go of the vine, I hurriedly shielded Livia away from the shards of wood that threatened to eviscerate us. Covering her body with my own, what felt like millions upon millions of shards embedded themselves onto my back; my screams filling the air with the pain of a thousand needles before I quickly gritted my teeth and righted myself again to absorb the impact of our fall.Livia, of course, screamed at me for my suicidal actions."What're you doing?!" my sister protested as she did her best to fight me from bracing the impact. Not that it would make me change my mind."I'm saving your life!" I shouted back as I felt the breeze of a freefall shearing across my bloody back. "Now keep still so that it won't be a waste of my time!"
"Pardon my French, but you fucked up, Master.""You think I don't know that?!"Ica was never one for being patient with her Master's idiocy. Well, that was what she first thought, at least. She had been shaped by her Master's own ideals and self-image; her personality coming from her Master's repressed and atrophied perfectionist tendencies if the phoenix recalled. She never tolerated failure, even in her thoughts. And that was perhaps the reason why she was harsh on her Master's self-destructive tendencies.But then again, her Master was an absolute idiot."Oh, I know," Ica frowned, her fiery hair practically glowing with power alongside her currently gray suit. "But you could've easily found other solutions if you weren't such a drama queen.""I am not a drama queen!"