¡BAM!
With a thud, my body crashed against the wooden roof of the old cabin, and I fell heavily to the ground. "Ouch, I think I've broken a bone!" I thought, letting out a groan. Enduring the sharp pain that shot through me, I managed to get up with difficulty, leaning my back against the wall.
EYE!
Looking up, I saw a beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure gracefully dodging a barrage of ice spikes. "So Subaru wasn't lying." My gaze shifted to the platinum half-elf and the small gray feline floating beside her. "Magic really does exist in this world."
EYE!
An overwhelming amount of magical power erupted toward the woman in black, freezing almost the entire area and leaving a huge crater of frost. "Come on, she must be dead from that," I managed to murmur. But from the icy mist she emerged, her clothes slightly torn and with only a few superficial wounds. "What a monster!"
I watched the scene, my ears ringing with pain. "Damn it, I'm such a nuisance... even Subaru did more than me." I clenched my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white. Frustration and helplessness burned inside me.
It was then that a faintly familiar glimmer caught my attention. My body shattered, I staggered toward an object that gleamed in a corner, illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun.
"You can still continue, Puck?" I heard the half-elf say in the distance.
—I'm sorry, but I'm really sleepy right now. I'll disappear if I run out of mana...
—I understand. We'll do everything we can from now on, so take a break.
—Okay, but only in a desperate situation...
"Hey, crazy!" I yelled, interrupting the feline spirit and drawing everyone's attention. "What did you say your name was?"
I stood up straight, looking her straight in the eyes, my hand resting on a golden box engraved with the imposing face of a ram. A small chain hung beneath the relief.
"I'm Elsa Granhiert, and it looks like the first thing I'll do is rip open your insides," she purred playfully, twirling her daggers as she prepared to leap at me.
"So, Elsa... Well, then allow me to introduce myself," I replied with a smile brimming with a confidence I hadn't possessed just a moment ago. The assassin stopped dead in her tracks, raising an eyebrow. "I'm Shin."
I grabbed the chain on the box and pulled hard. The chest burst open, revealing the majestic figure of a golden ram that began to radiate a blinding, warm aura.
"I am the Saint or the Knight of Aries," I declared, placing my hand on the statue.
With a sharp flash that illuminated the entire area, the statue shattered. The fragments transformed into pieces of pure armor that flew toward me, automatically adhering to my body, protecting me piece by piece.
"The guardian of the first house of the zodiac." I looked at my gleaming gauntlets. The armor was fully equipped. An overwhelming energy flowed through my veins; with just a flex of my muscles, the ground beneath my feet began to crack.
When I looked up again, Elsa was already in front of me, with her short swords just inches from my throat.
"And also..." I muttered, stopping his attack, "I don't like having your damn face near me!"