LogFAQs > #883851247

Macina drew a short sword and held it in a double handed grip.
The opponent brought out a hammer he'd been wearing at his belt.
He didn't have a shield with him, but he grabbed one from a fallen opponent.
The first soldier who rushed him met the shield instead, and was knocked away with the hammer.
Macina moved forward, feinted, and then pulled back.
As the opponent extended, her second soldier tried to catch him.
Though he was off balance he was capable of parrying the strike.
Macina knew that he was not going to be an easy opponent, then.
However, his power seemed specifically related to ranged attacks.
It was the Total Ranged Defense Web.
For that reason, if she could beat him fairly in a duel, his power wouldn't give him an edge.
That meant she did have a chance.

The soldier advanced on the Fairy commanded.
He fell back, pacing backwards into the smoke.
"No-" Sunday cried out. But her voice wouldn't reach them.
Macina hesitated.
The soldier rushed forward.
Then, using the cover, the Fairy leapt back out of the smoke and took him down with a single strike.
Macina was all alone now.
She didn't fall for the bait, even when he retreated a second time.
Even as the sound of battle behind her picked up.
She couldn't worry about what was happening back there.
Sunday saw someone dragging Aster away from the melee.
He was not conscious.
One of his hands was crumpled up and held tightly against his chest.
Most if not all of his fingers on that hand seemed to be broken.

Macina looked as if she was going to feint again, but then followed through on her strike.
The opponent had hedged his bets and ended up with a light gash rather than being impaled.
Not wanting to lose the momentum, Macina chased him and slashed horizontally.
But his shield saved him. He definitely had an edge as long as he was holding that.

Macina took two paces forward.
Just then, she knew what she had to do.
It was all or nothing.

Macina rolled forward and rose to one knee just beneath the opponent.
He turned his weight, shifting it.
His shield, predictably, was pulled aside.
And, at that moment, the hammer fell down on her from above.
Macina's sword rose to meet him in a double handed thrust.
If she was faster she'd kill him without getting hurt in the process.
If he was faster, if he didn't hesitate, he'd crush her skull and probably suffer a minor wound.
She was counting on the fact that Rainn would bring the others forward and swarm the commander.
He might be strong but he wasn't strong enough to fight a dozen men at once.
The reality ended up being somewhere in the middle.
Her sword struck the enemy commander in the gut,
and he hesitated long enough that she was able to turn aside from his return stroke.
Instead of a lethal blow to the skull she suffered a crippling injury.
There was a loud popping sound and her shoulder surely broke as she was knocked back to the ground.
The enemy spun, his shield falling out of his hand, and he fell to the ground as the sword was ripped out of his gut.

By the time Sunday reached Macina, the battle was already decided.

Her arm needed immediate treatment.
The camp surgeon said it would have to be amputated,
But with the use of magic healing they were able to at least save that from happening.
Still, her arm ended up in a sling and would need to heal naturally.
Too much magical healing would cause the tissue to become weak and it would never fully recover.
It was better to simply save the arm with magic and then let it recover naturally on its own.
Aster was awake again when they got back to the command room.
Men had been sent on the battlements to put out the fires. Rainn had gone with them.
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Reach For The Stars
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