"Grrr..." Elly snarled behind her helmet. It was a good thing that she took precautions to hid her face, but still, this is troubling.

["Yuu! Take the old man and the girl away from here!"] Elly ordered while her eyes still fixating on the dark blue haired man who dressed in a white vintage coat with an embroidered shirt beneath it.

"!!!" The man yelled at Elly, he seemed to be questioning Elly's sudden entrance. But, Elly didn't give him any break. She leapt from her position and throw another kick. The man was pushed aback, but like before, he blocked it with his sword which was supported by another hand. He grabbed on Elly's leg. Elly immediately kicked with her other leg and broke from his grip.

The man flicked his sword and leapt in a blink. He slashed his sword at Elly who's just landed on the ground. But, Elly jumped again, avoiding the air slash and landed further back, then she sprang toward the man. She spun and pointed her leg which had been boosted by the mana. The man shifted to side and barely dodged Elly's kick. Elly landed beside him. Wind blasted from the impact and the foliage brushed wildly as they were blown out by the force.

I glanced at the old man, he had the girl carried on his back and about to sneak out from the area while his face showed a pained look. Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep and he's still able move around. The dark blue haired man noticed, he leapt away from Elly and dashed toward the old man with his sword drawing against them. Elly jerked her head back and faced the leaping man.

WOOOONNGGGGGG

She roared at them. The sound waves blasted toward them. I closed both my ears. The dark blue haired man was staggered, including the old man. Elly successfully stopped the man, but only for a few second, the man has started adjusting himself back. Elly sprang to his direction and landed a direct kick on the man. He was sent straight afar, bounced on the ground and pounded hard on a tree trunk. Despite that, he quickly adjusted himself back into a stance, wiping off the blood he coughed out from his mouth. Then, he smirked, as though it was nothing major as he glared at Elly.

["Yuu! What are you doing? Hurry!"] Elly commanded me again.

Dang, we could've avoid this trouble

I pulled the helmet cover down, reluctantly unhide myself from the tree and dashed to the old man. The dark blue haired man noticed me and about to leapt toward the old man too. Elly knew his intention and blocked him off with a kick, but he avoided with a swift side stepping. He dashed again but interrupted again by Elly's attack. His eyes fixated on the old man whom I had reached. At first, the old man looked at me with doubt, but then he chose to trust me and let me carry the girl, whom I assumed is his daughter on my back. We quickly scurried away from the battleground. Even though the old man's leg was bleeding, he ran beside me without whining.

Sound of boom and clash echoed throughout the area. Trees collapsing and the ground shook frequently. Most of Elly's attack landed on the ground and the trees as she missed the man. Elly kept throwing him kicks but the man dodged and blocked all of them. The dark blue haired man shifted his eyes to me as I run and carrying the girl on my back. Elly broke his eye contact by throwing a kick she swung from the ground. The man saw her upcoming attack. He raised his hand up and caught her kicking leg. Elly was abruptly stopped. His hand not even pushed aback from the force nor speed. He squeezed his grip so tight that Elly grunted.

He threw a sharp, cold, downcast stare to Elly. His intimidating aura was so overwhelming that he made Elly shivered. She quickly jumped with her another leg on the ground and spun her body, intended to break free. But that man pulled Elly away from her momentum. He slammed Elly to a tree, her head smashed on the trunk and the tree collapsed by the impact. "Aaaghh!!" Elly wailed as she dropped to the ground. The man walked to her side and he raised his leg. Next, his leg blurred down and he stomped on Elly's ankle, with a force that cracked the ground along with a blast of raging wind. "!!!" Elly shrieked again.

Elly?

I jerked my head back as I run and saw Elly squirming on the ground. That dark blue haired man bent down and grabbed on Elly's head. He raised her up to close their height difference until they were face to face. He swung the sword he held on the right hand and slashed it toward the helmet face.

Clank

Elly's face was uncovered. She had blood rolling down from her nostril. She was glaring and snarling at the man. That man froze. He is now looking at her with eyes wide open. He was surprised to see her face as though he would never expected that face to be showing up in front of him. Elly took it as an advantage, she booted a powerful side kick to his waist. The dark blue haired man groaned as he took the hit and Elly was released from his grip. Elly dropped to the ground. She fixed herself up but her stance wobbled as her left ankle was injured. I stopped and hesitated about escaping when I saw Elly in that state.

Should I help her?? But, what can I do??

At the end, I decided on running away first. There's nothing I can do with an unconscious girl carried on my back. That man once again fixed his stance but now he turned to my direction and ignored Elly. The next second, he had leapt from his position and he flung toward us in the fastest speed he ever shown. Elly tried to sprang, but her ankle didn't cooperate and she tripped down. "Yuuu!!!" She shouted while lying flat on her stomach desperately, about to get up.

I turned my head and glanced at the man who was coming toward me in a blurring speed. That man flicked his sword covered with green blazing sheen. He swung his sword behind as the green aura raged even more ferociously. Every cell of my body screamed danger upon seeing that. There's no way I could evade the upcoming blow. I stopped abruptly as I turned toward him. His face frowned.

BWOOOOSSSHHHH!!

I thrust my hand at his direction and a transparent force busted straight at him, broke his momentum and sent him backward. He crashed into three layers of trees and stopped at the fourth. The surrounding birds screeched as they fly away. Dust strewn across the air, covering the ground and slowly fading out.

In front of me, is a destroyed path dragged straight to the man I just sent flying. My hand still hung on the air with palm facing in front of me. A green glow faded away from my palm and I can feel my mana had calmed down. I peered through the smoke caused by the impact. That man sat underneath the broken tree. His head hung down and I can't sense any movement from him, but oddly, his sword still gripped tight on his right hand.

What the hell was that??

"Elly! Can you walk??" I shouted at the wobbling Elly, she nodded as she started dragging herself toward us. The old man looked at me with his eyes wide opened. He was surprised, so did I. Thus, we escaped the area, leaving the dark blue haired man, not knowing whether he is alive or not. When we were moving through the forest, the old man talked to me. I didn't understand what he said. Unexpectedly, Elly replied to him and they exchanged speech.

"Huh? You know how to speak their language?" I asked. I never thought she could, because she only speak 'uhm' and 'uuu' when she first met me and she never replied any of the question of the guards or the man back there threw to her.

This girl... she never stopped surprising me.

["He said that the village he stays is near... we will be going to his house"] Elly translated for me.

"Why didn't you tell me that you understand their language?" I continued asking.

["Well, you never asked me anyway... ehe"] Elly smirked as she answered.

That’s true though...

I agreed and let the old man lead us to his house. The girl I was carrying on my back was still unconscious. I wonder what happened between them. Why were they being chased and that man back there, who is he?

Ahh... I hope the commotion didn't draw any of those guards to us

The direction we were running to, was actually following the route which I and Elly originally tracked. I glanced at the old man once a while. Even though, he looked old. He has maintained an athletic body and his stamina didn't fit his age at all. I glanced at his hastily bandaged leg. The blood soaked through the cloth and still dripping down. I was surprised at how he easily ripped his sleeve and tied it around his injury in a calm manner a while ago.

In the other side, Elly still moved in a funny stride as her steps were unbalanced from her swelling ankle. I asked why she doesn't heal herself like how she did before. But, she only said that she couldn't. Although I’m not satisfied with the short answer. I didn't ask more. For now, we need to be cautious of the surrounding and quickly reach to our destination.

It was a long run but fortunately, the man didn't chase after us. He might be dead. And if he really is dead, it means that I had killed a person. The thought itself feel a bit disturbing to me but what happened back there wasn't intentional. I didn't expect that at all. Anyway, there were also no guards came running for us so it's good. We spent few hours of run and finally shuffled out from the forest. A small village filled with old brick and wooden small houses strewn across the sun setting horizon. It was a scenery straight out from a middle-aged painting. What hit my head first was a question.

Where the hell am I??

Seeing the village didn't clear my mind, instead it further clouded with unsolved questions. Far from the village, lies blanket of lush mountains gleaming in orange tint as the sun started setting down. The houses in the village was distanced by wheat fields and further back should be the center as the houses gathered closer at that area.

Leaded by the old man, whom he introduced himself as Arex, we headed east, where a shabby wooden house built near the forest and secluded from all the houses in the village. The village was not as populated as what I have expected. I saw the faces of peeking people from their house as we moved past but they didn't look very welcoming.

I told Elly to ask what is the name of this village and Arex said it is 'Paltia'. I mulled over it, thinking hard and throughout about the name. But, nothing came to me at all. Looking at the appearance of the villagers and the architecture of the houses. The village resembles an old era western countryside. But, as for what country this village belongs to, I didn't ask. To be honest, I couldn't fully trust the old man yet. We've just met and he was chased by a seemingly knight or royal guard and moreover a quite skilled one. I was reminded by the evil grin that dark blue haired man put on his face when he fought Elly. I secretly hoped that he is dead.

I shouldn't act like I know nothing about this world... I have to think carefully about the question I will be asking.

Arex let us walked into his house. There were two rooms and the old man opened one on the right, which is a bedroom filled with one low wood table on the corner which he called a bed. I walked to the bed side and finally let the girl I carried on my back down to the wood surface. There was a window above the bed, so I glanced through it when my eyes were aligned with it. A small wooden shack was built not far from the house. The door to that shack was chained by a rusty lock. In front of the shack, a horse was tied beside a green carriage. No window was built on the carriage, so I supposed it was for transporting supplies. But, it could fit a couple person inside if wanted.

Arex went to the kitchen and opened a few cabinets until he finally found some white candles and lit up the house with those. Elly and I sat beside the girl on the wooden bed. She has a long wavy blonde hair and a round face like Elly. Her lips are as red as cherry in contrast with her skin. Now that I closely observed, she's probably younger than me. She is wearing a red frilly dress. Her father, Arex is wearing a neat black suit too. Their clothes didn't reflect the shabby wooden house they lived in at all. I wonder where they were going before that man attacked. Arex was outside the room, now closing the windows and locking the door. Then I looked at Elly's swelling ankle.

"Elly, why can't you heal yourself?" I asked. She shifted her eyes to her ankle.

["Ahh... yes, actually... I can't heal myself like how I heal others with the usual way"] She answered before she paused for a bit as she looked through the door, probably watching Arex.

"But, didn't you heal yourself after that fight with the spi..." I stopped, interrupted by my own sudden realization.

She indeed healed herself but it was different... At that time, she-

["I have to be in my mermaid form"] She explained. Thus, it made sense why she never heals herself during a fight.

"Are there other limitations?" I asked. In case we jumped into another unexpected fight. I need to know her limits.

["I have to be fully submerged in water too"] She awkwardly smiled as she rubbed her ankle. ["But, it will eventually heal by itself as time goes... just not as instant as how I healed myself in the water"] She added.

"Can it be any water? Even in a dirty or cramped place?" I asked.

["Yuckie... but yes, that will do, as long as it is water"] Elly stick her tongue out as she imagined the question I asked.

"???" Arex suddenly walked in on us, he held two set of clothing on his hand. He gave me one of the set and another one to Elly. I nodded to him as a thank as I don't speak his language. He asked about my language to Elly before. Elly shrugged it off by saying that I came from a faraway country. Arex can only chose to trust the vague information Elly gave to him at that moment. I believe he was being wary around us. We were walking in the woods wearing a guard's uniform after all. If I was him, I would feel suspicious too.

We changed the previous guard clothing out. It was a rugged long sleeve brown coloured tunic with a V shaped collar. Elly also wore the same tunic but in a white colour. The sleeves are too long and dangled down from her hand like the previous guard cloth. But, she seemed to like her oversized clothing. I asked why Arex didn't give her a girl's clothing, he said that he lost her daughter's clothing on their travel when they were suddenly got attacked by that dark blue haired man. The only clothes they have left is the few old ones of his own in the wardrobe.

["This morning, Arex was travelling to another city with his daughter. They are going to visit their relative. They went with a travelling cart along with a few villagers inside too. Then, all of a sudden, that man attacked their cart and killed everyone else. He managed to escape until... he met us"] Elly translated Arex's story to me as he talked. I looked at his daughter.

"What happened to his daughter?" I asked Elly to question him. Elly spoke and the old man Arex, he answered.

["He said that his daughter is usually ridden with sickness and weak, his other purpose of visiting that city was to bring her to see a better doctor. So, when they were in the middle of escaping, her daughter fainted as her illness gave her away."] Arex looked at her daughter and his eyes were getting teary, but regardless, he managed to hold his tears from rolling down to his cheeks.

"Can you heal her, Elly?" I glanced at Elly but she immediately shook her head.

["I've tried but... it doesn't work and I don't know why. Something within her blocked my healing magic"] Elly answered and sighed helplessly. She held the hand of that girl and clench it tight. Elly seemed to like that girl. Arex talked to Elly again and then they looked at me.

["He said that he will be going to the city the next morning as travelling in the night will be dangerous. Monsters will be lurking in the forest when night fall. But, the village is safe because a barrier was set and..."] Elly listened intently to Arex who is currently continuing his speak ["…he said that he wants us to accompany him on the journey, in case that the man came after them again"] Elly finished translating.

To accompany them to another city huh... he said that there is a better doctor, so it could be a bigger city. I might be able to get a whole lot of information there.

"Okay..." I nodded at Elly and then I stared at her, "By the way, why do you have to ‘actually’ speak even when you were telepathing with me?" I asked. Elly was talking all the time when she was sending her thought to me via the usual way. Although I have a few guesses in my head. I asked to confirm my thought. She’s been doing that since we were moving in the forest.

["Actually... I don't want him knowing that we can be communicating via telepathy..."] Elly explained and I shot her a 'why' gaze. ["Uhm... I will explain later"] She ended the conversation while exchanging stare with Arex. We smiled awkwardly at each other after that.

Elly seemed to be wary around Arex. I don’t know why but I feel the same too...

I looked at Arex. His dark brown hair had white mixed into it. He’s polite and he looked like a friendly old man, nonetheless, I shouldn't let my guard down. I will keep a close eye on him. After a moment of silent, Elly asked Arex where she can relieve herself. It was outside of the house, Arex said he will guide Elly and so they walked out of the room, leaving me and the girl alone. Sound of door unlocking could be heard and they had left the house. I glanced at the opened door and watched as their back disappeared into the shadow. Somehow, that sight concerned me.

Well... what can an old man do to Elly anyway.

I travelled my eyes throughout every nook and cranny of this room. The candle put by Arex on the table illuminated the entire room. The candle is strangely bright. Brighter than any candle I've ever seen before. I gazed at the flickering fire which casted shadow upon my figure to the wall behind me. There's a cabinet beside the bed and my eyes caught on a painting hung on the cabinet door. Then, when I was about to go get a clearer sight of it...

Snatch

Someone gripped on my wrist. A cold eerie hand. My heart thumped and I jerked my head down to see what's pulling my hand. It was that girl whom I never seen in her conscious state before. Her eyes opened and now staring at me with a frowned face while still lying flat on her back. Her cherry lips quivered as she slowly opened it.

And she talked. But, I don't understand any bits of it.