Frowns. Curiously, humankind visually expressed their disdain in the subtle creasing of the facial skin. Tightened about the corners of one’s features, these came together to form what might be called a frown or, a disapproving look. You might think that such a thing should be unappealing but some revelled in the scornful gaze of others, and certainly the frown upon the girl’s face did little to dampen her immense beauty.

She almost seemed more angry, than confused. Almost. As her sharp stare fell upon me, looking me up and down, I could feel the killing intent brewing behind her gaze. I had no idea how I should respond to the girl.

“You saw that?” she said again.

Clearly, she was a mage of sorts. I figured she was deciding how best to dispose of me. A mage in the West District of Olympus-3 was surely a bad sign. These wealthy suburban mansions, isolated and blissfully unaffected by the chaos consuming the rest of the planet were never involved in politics. How had that monster even gotten in here to begin with?

I glanced at its corpse, which had already begun disintegrating – transforming into a stream of dust, taken by the passing breeze. My eyes came back to her. Judging by how quickly she’d killed that thing I doubted I had much chance of escape.

“What were you –”

“Don’t try play dumb,” she quickly interjected.

Shit.

“You saw me defeat that Chaos Gargoyle. You probably saw my faction emblem too.”

Had I? Don’t just assume things.

“I’ll have to kill you now. Sorry about that.”

As if it were quite a regular thing for a human to do, she leapt over the wall like it required no effort. I looked around for an escape route. I was literally up against a wall, and I didn’t fancy my chances at running past her. Thinking quickly, I ran straight at her, hoping she wouldn’t expect a frontal attack.

A silver gauntlet materialised around her hand as she swiped at me, landing a clean blow on my temple with the backside of her hand. I fell hard to the ground. The treetops which towered over me waved from side to side as the world spun around. I gasped as I felt something hard press down on the centre of my stomach. As she dug the heel of her pump into me, I winced. I’d been winded. My breath was caught in my throat. She placed her other foot just above my collar bone. I spluttered as I tried to speak.

The edge of my vision darkened as the red of her top became a crimson haze. My senses were fading. Then, all at once, the pressure was relieved. I blinked, delirious. As my sight returned to me, I found her in her battle gear once more, surrounded by several monsters like the one she’d killed before. They flapped their wings, hovering just above the grass, their long, pointed tongues lapping at the corners of their grey, meaty lips.

Her sword of green was a flash of light as it swished brilliantly through the air – a shining marvel amidst the encircling demons of black fire. The blue of the cool night air was tainted with the hot spray of red as she hacked her way through their grey flesh; but still they came. More and more descending upon the mansion grounds from the dark sky above. Like a flock of birds, they fell upon her, clawing at the girl with their bony hands.

She felled them one by one, sometimes even two at a time, but, slowly, they began to break her guard, claws catching the exposed flesh of her cheeks, or denting the armour plate upon her chest by sheer repeated impacts.

I got to my feet, placing one hand on the garden bench to support my shaky rise. I shouted weakly.

“Hey!”

The monsters ignored me. I shouted again, reaching for a nearby rock. I tossed it into their midst, striking one on the back of its head. The thing turned, anger flaring in the yellow of its eyes. My gaze met the girl’s and she looked at me as if to ask “What, are you an idiot or something?”

I supposed that was a fair question. Nobody sensible would toss a rock into a crowd of angry demonic creatures. Still, it had felt like the right thing to do.

Of course, only an idiot - like myself - would act ethically if it meant putting themselves in danger for the sake of a complete stranger. I swear, I wasn’t usually like this, but something compelled me to act without thinking. I would blame her later, if I survived, for depriving my brain of oxygen right before I had to make an important decision.

Several of the monsters rose with beating wings from the crowd, gathering in the sky above me. This definitely wasn’t amongst the best ideas I’ve had.

“Draw their attention!” she called, the blood on her cheek glinting in the green glow of her sword.

Now, she wanted my help? Wasn’t she trying to kill me just a few moments earlier? I decided not to overthink the situation. Waving my arms about like an idiot I managed to get the creatures to dive at me. I narrowly avoided their swooping attacks, scraping my arms as I rolled along the ground to avoid their attacks.

The air around me grew bright. I looked to where the girl stood and saw what appeared to be a miniature sun, growing around the tip of her outstretched blade.

“LICHTSTRAHL RIESIGER ZERSTÖRENDER!”

Shouting something that sounded like German, a massive beam of light erupted from her sword and flooded the air. Even lying upon the ground, I felt the heat of the thing above me, and I had to shield my eyes so as not to be blinded by it.

As the light faded, I looked about. The air was filled with drifting dust – the remnants of the fierce hoard of adversaries that had assailed us. Across the lawn, the girl lay face down, a black dagger protruding from her back.

I rushed to her side. Her armour had vanished, and she lay unconscious, blood soaking her top and the grass around her as it seeped through the fabric. Carefully I drew the weapon. It crumbled into nothing in my hand, scattering like ashes in the wind. I examined her. It didn’t look like the bleeding would let up.

I frowned. Not out of disapproval, as she had, but out of concern. I need to get her inside, fast, I thought as I carried her up to my sister’s mansion.