The Least Common Denominator

LI.IV Number Line

"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!"

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• The Least Common Denominator   LI.V Number Line

  "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.

• The Least Common Denominator   LI.VI Number Line

  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

• The Least Common Denominator   LI.VII Number Line

  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 Least Common Denominator   LI.VIII Number Line

  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!"

• The Least Common Denominator   Interlude XXII: Ica III

  "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!"

• The Least Common Denominator   LII.I Division

  War and peace. I knew I shouldn't be musing, but I couldn't help but think about all the things that happened so far for us to be in this fucked up situation in the first place. From the sudden death of my parents in the hands of the Primes to my enslavement as a Denominator; to meeting Olivia, to our first rebellion and exodus from the Furnace, all the way to the establishment of the village and its subsequent fall; a lot has happened in the years that followed the abrupt end of my peaceful life. Was it a punishment for being a shit doctor in my previous life? Or was it just an effect of having horrible luck? I didn't know, and frankly, I wish I didn't have the urge to think too much about it. If all else, I should be focusing on the now instead of musing on the events of the past.Then again, I probably would do anything else if I could escape the blinding pain that came to the forefront of my mind as s

• The Least Common Denominator   LII.II Division

  Like a Beyblade on crack, I spun forward with blades drawn out to my sides; my arms protesting each hit that I landed as I drew closer to my sister. Each rotation I did was akin to a weed-whacker; my arms flailing around on my sides while I let my blades do all the work. It wasn't graceful, and it sure as hell wasn't what Mother taught me on how to fight with dual blades, but if it was something I could do in spite of my shitty condition, then it was as effective as any technique out there that I could use."Get outta the way, Livia!"My body felt like it was on fire as I practically flailed my way to my sister's side; my own control shot straight to hell as I did my best to steer my body towards the plants that threatened to skewer her. Well, it was us now seeing as I was actually having my own share of branches to clear now. I guess the French fuck finally noticed that I was

• The Least Common Denominator   LII.III Division

  The ground beneath our feet quickly turned into mush as the torrential rain poured down from above us. And to think that things wouldn't get any worse, the gods just had to piss on us from way on high with this natural disadvantage on my fucking element!Okay, think... I don't have the Essence to spare to keep my flames alight amid this fucking downpour. Maybe for a second or so, but after that, the rain would extinguish it without me pouring more Essence to keep it from dying out. By taking the side route, I had hoped to get away from this French fuck's effective range, but it seemed like I just made it harder for ourselves at every turn we took, and more branches greeted us like it was my goddamn birthday."Stick close!"Newly formed mud splattered on my legs as I haphazardly led ourselves through this bramble maze of a former camp. Even dodging

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• The Least Common Denominator   CV.III Cotangent
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