"Attack him together—"
It seemed like he did not need my help; if anything, he seemed to be taking this threat more lightly than not. Whether I was here or not would have made no difference— so why not leave?
I took a step back, still undecided on what to do. But before I could actually make my decision, someone else made it for me.
"Trying to leave, are ya? Too bad. A little girl such as ya shouldn’t have come here in the first place."
The thug boss came up from behind me, swiveling his glowing shortsword. The light formed what appeared to be a second blade around the metallic edge of the weapon, and it almost looked like it was… vibrating?
"Ya come here, and cause a mess, killing dozens of my men. This gang which I’ve built up for so long. And ya really expect to leave just like that?"
"Um, yes?" I quirked my head to the side. "Although I wasn’t sure if I was going to leave. I was only thinking about it, you know?"
It was a quip. A stupid quip. The only thing I could think of saying at the moment, with my heart pounding faster and faster the longer I stared at his chainsaw blade.
He shook his head. And as he did, I thought I could almost see the Plague Doctor take notice of what was happening from my peripheral vision. Before I could turn my head to confirm, the thug boss snarled.
"I have some bad news for ya, brat. I’m going to make you pay for this!"
He lunged forward at me. I brought my dagger up to block his attack. Our blades met midair. The clash was not like any other I have felt before. The rapidly rotating aura of energy forced my hand back upon contact. I did everything in my power to keep by my dagger from flying off.
The thug boss saw me stagger back. He pressed forward, not letting up his attacks. I tried to parry another swing, but once again I almost lost hold of my weapon. I watched him load up for another strike, and this time, I dodged out of the way.
He continued his relentless swinging. Not even bothered by my attempts at counterattacking— easily avoiding me with his superior reach. I backed up several feet as the thug boss spat. "Stop running, and just give up!"
He pulled out a round object. It was a bomb, of course. "Catch," he said, throwing it at me.
Why would I do that?! I leapt out of the way in time. The shockwave did not knock me back, but it did cause me to stumble a little bit. Oh my God, I’m actually going to die—
A glowing light cut through the dust and smoke. The chainsaw blade came right at me. Straight at my neck. I barely even registered it. But my instinct kicked in, and my hand went up in a panic. A finger twitched. And a light covered me.
My magical barrier shot up just in time. The blue shield that was slightly bigger than me formed where my hand was, taking the brunt of the hit. Cracks formed where the enchanted blade struck, but it did not shatter.
The sudden glow must have attracted more than a few looks, as I heard a few gasps. The thug boss stared at the magic circle right at my palms, slowly registering what he was seeing.
"H-heretic!"
He yelled, recoiling from shock. He worked his jaw to say something else, but I did not let him; I saw an opening, and I took it.
The magic circle disappeared alongside the barrier as I alleviated the spell. Already, another spell was forming on my other hand, as it shot up pointed towards the thug boss. I said its name to cast it faster.
"Fireball."
And it shot out at him. He did not even have time to react. The large sphere of flames engulfed him entirely, carrying him to a cluster of trees at the back. There was an agonizing howl as the thug boss was swept up by the spell, but he was quickly silenced by the explosion that followed it. But it was not just him.
Everyone was staring in stunned silence at where the thug boss blew up. At the crater surrounded by flames, crackling, and burning up the remaining shrubbery that survived the blast. The only exception was the Plague Doctor— he was looking at me. But all the thugs?
"M— that’s magic!"
"A Dark Crusader? Run for your lives!"
"She killed the boss! She’s a Demon!"
"Goddess grace us—"
Pandemonium broke out. The thugs threw down their weapons, making a break for it. I was about to stop them. Maybe with an area of attack spell. But the Plague Doctor just shook his head.
"Hm, if that was your secret, you should have just said so." He raised an arm, opening his hand up towards the sky. "I don’t think she’d like it if any of you tell on her. So unfortunately, I’ll have to stop you."
A mass of energy began to form on the palm of his hand, and my eyes went round. Glowing green particles shaped into an orb. About the size of my head. Magic? I thought to myself. No— where’s the spell circle?
The thugs that saw this screamed as well. A dozen of them scattered in all directions, fleeing from us both. But there was no point. The first beam shot out of the green ball of energy, curving midair to strike the nearest thug. Then another came out, followed by another, and another.
Shouts of pain came and went one after another. The last of the thugs only managed to get several dozens of feet away, before they, too, dropped dead.
The Plague Doctor lowered his hand, the green energy dissipating into
