After the hospital stopped shaking, Hazel and Astrid took a moment to collect themselves. Though it didn't take long before the dark elf spoke up.
"What the hell was that?!" She questioned in alarm, her eyes darting around the hospital lobby.
"Someone fired a charged arrow that was completely made of mana into the hospital. And I think they were aiming at the fifth floor, where those players were."
"But why-!"
Astrid's question was interrupted when another explosion was heard as the building started to shake once more. The two players stood there for a moment and waited for the shaking to stop. Once it did, Hazel quickly switched her vision to see what was going on.
"Tch!" She clicked her tongue irritably. "That bastard doesn't seem to be stopping. He's already charging up a third mana arrow attack."
As she spoke, Hazel watched the figure pulling back their arrow while forming another mana arrow, charging it with enough energy to cause another explosion like the previous two.
"Dammit...!"
Knowing what was about to happen next, Hazel sprinted for the door, confusing Astrid in the process.
"Hey, where are you going?!"
Hazel didn't bother to wait for her partner as she burst through the doors, finding herself outside. She scanned her surroundings with both her eyes and Astral Eyes, searching for the figure that was targeting the players on the fifth floor.
Thankfully, she found her target located over to her left, around a block or so away from her. As soon as she spotted the enemy, her body was immediately enveloped in Telekinesis, allowing her to hover in the air.
Astrid soon made it outside, just to see Hazel preparing for lift-off. The witch hastily turned to her partner.
"Go check up on Kane and the others," She told the dark elf. "I'll go and deal with this newbie terrorist myself."
Instead of arguing, Astrid reluctantly nodded her head before heading back into the hospital. However, just before she did, Hazel stopped her.
"Taking the stairs would take too long," She advised. "Just climb the walls to save yourself the hassle!"
Astrid then gave her witch partner a thumbs-up before dashing off toward the wall of the hospital building. Watching the dark elf climb the wall, Hazel then turned around and flew over to where she had located the mystery figure shooting at the building.
She zipped through the air, speeding toward her target like a homing missile. It only took her a few seconds before she was now hovering over the building where she found the unknown player causing trouble. The figure was wearing a dark gray cloak with a hood obscuring their head. Combined with the bow, Hazel assumed that the figure was a Ranger class. And a strong one at that. However, that could be because of their weapon.
Another thing Hazel noticed was that the figure appeared to possess a slim, feminine frame, which could mean that this person was a female. Of course, she wasn't going to assume until she knew for sure. The number of times she was tricked by traps in Anime was numerous and, above all else, shameful. Despite witnessing so many Trap reveals, she somehow still gets tricked when she sees a "female" character before realizing that it was a guy wearing women's clothing.
Just then, as if sensing her presence, the figure looked up in her direction, aiming their bow right at her. Just before they could shoot, Hazel activated her evil eyes and forced them to freeze in place. Sadly, they still managed to loose their arrow, letting the projectile zip toward her like a bullet.
Hazel thought about simply stopping it in its tracks with the help of Telekinesis, but she couldn't be bothered and moved to the side, letting the arrow fly past her. Even though the figure was unable to move, she could tell that they were surprised by how effortlessly she avoided their attack.
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Hazel stared down at the figure for a few moments before descending in front of them. Landing on the roof, she stood before the figure with her arms crossed.
"You mind telling me why you were shooting that arrow into that hospital building?" she questioned. "Or maybe why you were targeting those players on the fifth floor?"
Once again, Hazel was able to tell that the figure was growing nervous. She watched as their body tensed even more despite already being affected by her Evil Eyes glare. However, the player refused to answer her question, which annoyed her.
"You don't want to talk? That's fine," She declared while walking closer to the figure. "Then I guess you won't need that hood then,"
She then reached for the figure's hood and pulled it off their head, only to stumble back in shock upon identifying the figure. With widened eyes and a gaping mouth, Hazel could only utter this in dismay.
"You're kidding me..."
...
Astrid latched onto a window frame and then pulled herself up. Still clinging to the frame, she then leaped up and grabbed the next edge, bringing herself closer to the fifth floor.
"I should've gotten Hazel to fly me up to the fifth floor," She groaned.
Despite being well-trained and athletic, Astrid found it a bit difficult to climb the hospital building. Especially when bits of debris from the two initial explosions were falling down around her.
But as she got closer to the fifth floor, the dark elf started to hear voices above her. They were a bit muffled due to her location, but she was still able to make out a conversation.
"Who the hell was shooting at us?! One of your buddies that you betrayed us with, Simon?!"
"Do you really expect me to answer that?"
Astrid scoffed as she heard the argument. "Looks like Hazel was right about the betrayal thing. They sure sound heated."
While she didn't think Hazel was lying to her, she still held some doubt regarding the scenario that she described, which was two players from a group of five betraying their teammates for some unknown reason. It was clear why Astrid was a bit skeptical regarding her explanation.
"You will after I cut off your arms and legs, you bastard!"
"That seems a bit excessive, even for you, Nick."
"I'll show you excessive when I-!"
"Hey, who's causing all of this ruckus?!"
Astrid was familiar with the last voice. It was Kane, which meant he finally made it to the fifth floor as well. The other players were seemingly startled by Kane's arrival, and a chorus of voices erupted, making it difficult for Astrid to identify who was talking and what they were saying.
Realizing that things were getting out of hand quickly, Astrid picked up the pace and rapidly climbed the wall. Looking up, she saw a massive hole a few feet away from her. If she had to guess, that was where the fifth floor could be. The dark elf then made her way over to the hole, soon grabbing the edge before pulling herself inside.
Rolling along the floor, Astrid repositioned herself while drawing her bow. She notched an arrow back and stared at the people currently in front of her. There were the five players that Hazel told her about, and then Kane and the other players that were with her and Hazel were located in the back.
As soon as everyone noticed her, they were both alarmed and relieved.
"Good, you made it, Astrid," Kane said with a smile.
Meanwhile, the player wearing the magician's robe and glasses cautiously yet curiously stared at Astrid, as if intrigued by her appearance.
"Another dark elf...?" He muttered.
Hearing this, Astrid paused before keeping her eyes trained on the glasses-wearing mage. She even pointed her bow at him, making sure that he didn't make any sudden movements.
"What the hell do you mean by another?" Astrid questioned, her eyes narrowing menacingly.
The fact that he said this told her that there seemed to be another dark elf. And if it was the one she believed he was talking about, then Astrid might've stumbled upon her first clue regarding the bastard that betrayed her, Dolk.
Simon cautiously took a step back, alarmed by the dark elf's sudden hostility. "W-wait, you mean you aren't with..."
"Aren't with who?"
This guy clearly knew something, and judging by how he reacted to Astrid's appearance and assumed that he was with someone, that meant that he was referring to the other dark elf. Though she still didn't know who this person was yet. But it wouldn't be long until she got her answers.
[Hazel Thatcher: Astrid, you need to see this.]
Astrid clicked her tongue upon seeing Hazel's message, annoyed that she was being interrupted.
[Astrid Skogr: Whatever it is, it can wait.]
[Hazel Thatcher: It can't. Not this, anyway.]
[Astrid Skogr: And what exactly is that, huh?]
[Hazel Thatcher: The figure that shot a mana-charged arrow into the hospital...it's a dark elf.]
Upon reading Hazel's last message, all the color in Astrid's face drained from her face as her eyes trailed over the panel to properly read it. Despite re-reading it several times, the words didn't change and simply remained the same, telling Astrid that this wasn't some dream, but reality.
[Astrid Skogr: What...?]
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