"No choice. Dip!"
Their cautious steps broke into a sprint, their hurried footsteps echoing below. The sound quickly reached the ears of the teenage girl racing up the stairs. She no longer required her special technique to track them.
"Don't think you can hide from me ~ Even if you guys run, I can sense your traces!"
Thrilled that she had been right, her already abnormal way of ascending became even stranger. Instead of taking the stairs two at a time, she was...
Jumping!
She was like the hare in the classic fable story, racing toward the finish line; however, in this version, the hare wasn't going to stop until she reached it.
Max glanced at Audrey, whose amber-gold eyes were alert but remarkably calm considering their situation.
"This way. We can use the western passage to shake her off."
To his surprise, Audrey didn't hesitate or question, matching his pace with ease as they navigated the complex turns. She moved with unexpected familiarity, anticipating each corner and ducking under low-hanging gears almost instinctively.
"How many loops did you say we've been through?"
"This is the fifth, I've lost count of how many times we've had this exact conversation."
"And I never remember between resets?"
"Not consciously, no."
Max led them into a wide mechanical chamber he'd explored several times across previous loops.
"But I'm starting to think your body remembers what your mind doesn't. Watch yourself here—
Audrey subconsciously sidestepped the exact spot he was about to indicate. She paused, staring down at the damaged section with furrowed brows.
"…there's a broken floor tile two steps ahead," Max finished his unneeded words, a little caught from the moment.
"How did I know that was there?"
"Muscle memory, maybe? Your divine connection might exist partially outside normal time flow. Could explain why you're adapting faster with each reset. Or maybe the effects of the time loop are finally showing to someone other than me."
He furtively checked his status window, careful not to let Audrey see his reaction to what was displayed:
[EMERGENCY QUEST: ?????]
- Description: "The Chronovryn has iden███ you as a temp███ ████. Each l██p e███s a fr███ion of your exis███ce in th██ wor██."
- Objective: Survive as YOU
- Status: Timeline Integration: 77%
- Reward: ???
- Failure: YOU will cease to exist.
The percentage had dropped again, and more of the description had turned into corrupted text. Max pressed his palm against his temple, trying to hide the dull ache spreading behind his eyes.
Despite his efforts, Audrey's perceptive gaze caught the gesture.
"You're hiding something. Every time I see you wince like that, it's as if you're in pain."
"It's nothing."
Max moved towards a cluster of gears that offered better cover.
"It's clearly not nothing. Your hands are shaking, and I do not believe it is from your earlier heavy injuries. Also… you keep looking at something…?"
I was careless.
Max hesitated, unsure how much to reveal.
He glanced down at his status again, focusing on the objective and the oddly emphasized "YOU."
!!!
A sudden realization struck him about his relation with the Chronovryn.
It was specifically targeting his identity, his existence in this world.
That's why he felt like he was slipping into another self, as if his own personality was fracturing.
A self that seemed similar to his extra self that had belonged to this world originally.
Though whether that extra actually existed was something that Max had doubts with. Besides, the idea of that personality being another him in another world made him want to revolt away in disgust.
"I think I understand now. The Chronovryn is a guardian of time, and as you had mentioned earlier, I'm... problematic to it. It sees me as something that shouldn't exist."
"Why would it see you that way?"
Max opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps.
"I've got you now!"
They heard the teenage Hunter's voice rang triumphantly from just around the corner.
"We're cornered. She's too close. Looks like there will be no outrunning her now," Max said.
Audrey prepared herself, her eyes scanning the chamber for options.
"What do we do?"
"What you do best—confrontation."
The teenage Hunter rounded the corner, a victorious smile spreading across her face when she spotted them.
"Finally. I've been chasing you two all over this blasted tower."
Somehow, despite all their attempts to stay hidden, she had tracked them through multiple levels of the tower and found them.
While she blocked the only exit, her eyes moved between them before settling on Audrey, recognizing her nun outfit.
"So, your one of the three Saintess' candidates? Annoying. Let's take you out first before you fix up that slippery guy again."
She wasted no time at all.
She moved with impressive speed, channeling her aura to enhance her already considerable agility. Blue aura flickered around her legs as she launched herself at Audrey with a flying kick aimed directly at the Saintess candidate's chest.
Max backed away, panic flashing across his face.
"Audrey! Look out!"
The Hunter's kick tore through the air, a blur of blue streaking toward Audrey's chest. The force behind it was enough to send an ordinary person flying, to break ribs, to end everything without a fight.
And yet.
Audrey didn't move.
Golden light flickered around her hands.
"Haha! A defensive spell? Too slow!" the Hunter sneered.
Crack!
The impact came.
But from the other side.
A sharp crack rang through the chamber as the Hunter's momentum was wrenched sideways. Her confident smirk twisted into shock as her body whipped through the air, her own force turned against her. She barely had time to register what had happened before she slammed into a pillar.
Thud!
Only then did the golden glow around Audrey's hands fade, leaving her standing exactly where she had been.
It wasn't a defensive spell at all.
Her aura, manifested with divine power, simply caught the Hunter's leg mid-strike and pivoted, using the girl's own momentum to send her crashing into one of the chamber's pillars.
Max laughed.
The mask of panic dissolved into a broad grin.
The impact caused dust to billow through the air.
"The Mother Goddess grants mercy to the repentant."
Audrey stared down, her voice carrying the weight of divine authority as her amber-gold eyes flashed with righteous fire,
"but justice to the wicked."
Max's watched the Hunter struggle to her feet.
"Little girl, have your parents ever told you to never judge a book by its cover?"
The Hunter stared at Audrey with genuine confusion, brushing debris from her shoulders.
"Gah! What kind of holy woman fights like that?"
"One who walks both paths"
Audrey slid into a hallowed combat stance.
"Divine magic and martial skill—the Paladin's path of the Templar."
Max studied the Hunter carefully, analyzing her movements, stance, and the way her aura flowed.
If they survived this loop, this information would be invaluable in the next one.
The Hunter circled them cautiously and pursed her lips.
"Two against one hardly seems fair."
"Neither does sending professionals with a license to kill after an Academy applicant that should have rightfully have been enrolled ages ago," Max refuted.
She attacked again. Since her opener had failed, it meant it was time for her to expend some effort. Her movements were impressive for young teenager. Fluid combinations of strikes enhanced by controlled bursts of aura. In a normal confrontation, she would have been a formidable opponent for most first year students.
But Audrey was far from normal.
She moved with the prowess of someone who had trained extensively in physical combat. Subtle divine power flashed as she reinforced her blocks and amplified her strikes. Where the Hunter relied on raw speed and power, Audrey countered with technique and timing.
Max kept watching closely.
Right-side bias. Addicted to high-kicking people to the head. Her aura stutters under her sustained output. She's the reckless type to just burn it all through without considering how much gas she's using.
"You fight pretty good... for a holy lady," the Hunter acknowledged grudgingly after Audrey deflected a combination of five swirling high kicks to the head.
"The Church teaches that a pure spirit should reside in a disciplined body. People say I took that teaching more literally than most."
The Hunter launched another attack. This time directing a new set series of lightning-fast strikes.
The direction was not to Audrey.
But to Max.
"Let's see if your friend is as capable!"
Max ducked and weaved. He lacked Audrey's combat training, but compensated with his inherent keen observation and quick reflexes.
"The me right now is more of a tactical advisor," he said, narrowly avoiding a punch with the intent of crushing his jaw.
Another strike that should have hit him, but only met with the empty air.
Th real driver behind his ability to dodge was naturally his cloak.
Yet, it was a one-sided assault with Max having no chance to retaliate.
That was a real close one. Good thing I'm wearing this. She definitely didn't hold back. That's right keep burning all your reserves. And that would...
As Max had expected, the constant use of fuel had let to an opening in her stance.
"Audrey—her left side is open!"
Regardless the amount of aura she had left, there would be a moment where she would have to rest. For a Tier 2 Disciple, it was even more so.
Audrey immediately capitalized on Max's findings, delivering a heavy strike that sent the Hunter staggering backward before she fell to the floor.
After a few seconds, she rolled back to her feet, fury building in her eyes.
Max recognized the danger signs.
She was about to become even more reckless.
"Give it up kid," he taunted, purposely stoking her anger. "Weren't you with your dad? Did he abandon you to chase ghosts?"
The taunt struck home.
The Hunter's face contorted with rage.
"Shut up! He's not my father! That guy thinks you're nothing but residual magical traces!"
Max pressed the advantage, circling to flank her.
"Oof. If that was your best shot at a comeback, that's actually tragic. Are kids nowadays that bad at trash talk? Or are you just trying to say your tracking ability isn't as reliable as you claimed to your employers?"
"FUCK YOU!"
She snarled.
Abandoning all caution, the girl channeled a dangerous amount of aura into her limbs and launched herself at Max.