Han had stopped thinking.

  With one arm, he locked Eli into his grasp.

  Benson heaved something indiscernible, and Han instantly lurched to the side, rolled onto his feet and staggered a few steps away from the Ice Cream truck-

  CRASH!

  The impact shook the ground, crashing hard into where they'd just stood. A puff of cold, white air bloomed in the aftermath.

  Ice mist.

  Screams drowned the square.

  The floor had cracked all the way to Ulcisor's statue, and the denizens had scattered all over like ants from a destroyed colony.

  Some staggered back to their feet after the quake knocked them down, while others stayed to help the children and the elderly.

  And as the ice and dust settled, Uncle Benson was there, standing in the heart of it. He held in his grasp a chunky, hard hammer. One for crashing skulls and pulverising blood. One for death.

  It was a summoned Gift.

  Ice-related Grace? Bloody damn great.

  'What are you doing!' Han cried at him. 'What... What's going on!'

  Uncle Benson snorted like a bull and readjusted his grip on his hammer. A smile on his face seemed impossible now.

  Joining him at his side was that hooded man. He removed his hood and revealed a miserable-looking middle-aged man with grizzled stubble and bloodshot, demented eyes.

  In fact, that was something they shared. Both had a look of terrifying malice in their eyes.

  Han felt Eli's little fingers dig into his ribs as she held on tight, and her face burrowed hard into his chest; it hurt. She was Graced after all.

  The Son Viliers? It has to be! But Why? Why, why, why?!

  He couldn't understand. Why would they attack him now? Why did Uncle Benson just try to kill him? Was he an agent of theirs? Was this whole character of his a lie?

  It had to be the Son Vilier's, right?

  Just then, around the miserable man's hand, the air fizzed, congealed and morphed into a longsword Gift. He clasped it with both hands, veins popping from anger and effort, then steadied his knees.

  Han did not wait.

  He instantly took off.

  His legs worked as they'd never before. They burned and burned, and his chest pinched as if he carried a hundred needles inside.

  Eli remained tight in his hold, her little hands wrapped tightly around him, and her face pressed against his chest with not a single whimper.

  Han dashed into the park, with the two on his tail, taunting him.

  He couldn't see them, but he most definitely sensed them.

  But he didn't make it far before Eli signalled him by tugging his shirt, and he immediately dove onto the ground-

  FZIIT!

  He couldn't see it, but the blade had grazed his back and missed the rest of him.

  Not a second after-

  CRASH!

  The hammer would've gotten him. It would've gotten him well if he had not had a thousand trees all over.

  He rolled from the cover of one to another, then ran and dove some more.

  The blade had gotten him a few times on his back and thighs, but the hammer hadn't gotten him once.

  If it had, he'd be dead.

  It was all thanks to Eli's signalling.

  The trees flashed by as he sped through, veering left and right unpredictably, and swinging from branches every now and then.

  He felt that they were vaguely losing him now. He heard their attacks less and less but didn't dare to chance a glance over his shoulder. A mere second was enough for a Graced to do much more than he could comprehend, even if they were only Supplicants.

  Han had experience in that matter.

  He clutched Eli tight and continued to maze through the forest, not much thinking to him except the life of his sister and his own.

  CRrRrRacK!

  Han's eyes snapped wide.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  A great tree was falling ahead, barring their path.

  Eli tugged, and Han dove left, just dodging a downward slash that ripped a minor gorge into the earth.

  Shit!

  Eli tugged.

  Han lurched atop a rock, then once more to get a hold on the tree branch.

  The hammer fell just behind, devastating a space which included the tree he clung to with one hand.

  Eli tugged.

  But she didn't have to. Han saw the swordsman this time dashing at them from up ahead with terrifying speed.

  Their tree cracked and groaned as it fell.

  The sword was about to attack.

  Han's thoughts went manic.

  No no no no!

  What was there to do? The tree was falling slowly, but the swordsman was approaching fast.

  And then there was the cold ice once more, and the sound of a straining hammer behind him.

  Han had known he wouldn't last long with his attempted escape. He was mundane after all, and they were only alive thanks to Eli.

  But it had only been a minute!

  He hoped for at least a little more before help arrived.

  Was it really it?

  Was he really about to let Eli-

  Suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, something heavy pressed in the air.

  The Swordsman slowed and staggered.

  A heavy thud sounded behind him as the great hammer fell without aggression.

  Han felt it too. Like Gravity grew furious and pressed them all down hard.

  He felt himself grow heavier and heavier, and he felt Eli become a burden he could no longer carry.

  'GRRH.. What in...'

  Han glimpsed the Swordsman's eyes widen in shock. Then he looked over his shoulder to see Uncle Benson leaning over his hammer, groaning and folding over in pain.

  What's happening? Who's doing this?!

  The tree he was hanging from began falling faster and faster, and Han could no longer keep them both hanging.

  'Hang on, Eli!'

  He let go, and they dropped a distance of eight feet with Han taking the brunt of it on his legs and rolling over so that his sister didn't hurt much.

  'GAH!'

  Air was knocked out of him, and his wounds gnawed at him like a beast's fangs.

  He groaned, checked on Eli, and groaned some more. He tried rolling over, but it felt like an impossible errand.

  In fact, he doubted he could stand again.

  But he did.

  Despite the heaviness in the air and the pressure on his chest, he stood. He spat some blood, coughed some more, wheezed in sharp breath and blinked his red, failing eyes awake as he stood.

  His knees buckled at the slightest strain, but he forced them steady.

  Then he looked at Eli, lying there with her little crowned head hiding in the leaves and dirt while one hand tightly clasped Han's trousers in fear.

  He'd taught her that.

  He'd taught her again and again that when she was far too scared, she should try her best to keep her eyes and ears closed and keep as close to him as possible.

  But he was also glad now that she couldn't see him in this state.

  That aside, he leaned over, heaved her over to his chest once more as if he were trying to lift a boulder, and struggled for a step.

  The swordsman was dragging his feet towards them, teeth bared in malice. 'I won't fail!' He snarled at him loud enough for Han to hear the wheeze in his chest. 'You won't get your way! Not this time! NOT! THIS! TIME!'

  Han barely managed to drag his feet a meter ahead before his body buckled and slumped over.

  But the Swordsman was getting closer!

  He couldn't just lie over and die!

  He tried once more to rise, but his body would not respond.

  It's come to this...

  He forced himself on all fours with his back facing the swordsman, while he softly lay Eli's shivering body beneath him, protected by his own.

  Hearing the swordsman's feet drag closer and closer with the leaves crackling louder and louder, he caught his breath and bit the inside of his mouth hard.

  Then he leaned over to Eli's ear, removed her little hand that covered it, and whispered:

  'My... My little princess, when I-' He coughed, but forced himself on. 'When I say the magic word... burn, okay?'

  His sister, without looking up or opening her eyes, shook her head in desperate refusal.

  'It's okay...' he lied. 'I promise I'll stay with you. I'm stronger than you think.' He tried to sound confident, but it was a pathetic attempt. 'But, for both of us, you have to burn. Promise?'

  She remained still and silent, then eventually, she said in a tiny, wavering voice, 'Papa said that too.'

  Han shut his eyes tight, leaned closer, and pecked her softly on the cheek. 'Promise me, Eli.'

  She went still, then finally nodded.

  I'm sorry

  Han shut his eyes and waited for the steps to get close enough. Pain rendered his head empty and emotions weak. But still. A tear managed its way down his cheek.

  'You've tried yourself enough, sir.' It was a woman's husky voice. A heavy voice laced with a grim determination.

  Suddenly, the pressure and weight on his body were relieved.

  Han's head perked up. Shocked. Confused. He saw her, tall, stunning and imperious in her crimson and black IGP uniform. Her raven black hair was tied elegantly into three separate ponytails, while her eyes, dark and grim against her pale skin, peered menacingly ahead at the swordsman.

  Han recognised her instantly.

  Rhea Son Fairmont, IGP Captain, famed for her insidiousness and revered for her brutal prosecution of Rogues and slaughtering Heretics.

  But above all, her actions given her young age highlighted her as prodigious and made her a minor celebrity on the internet with a fanatic fan base.

  An idolised role model for young aspiring Graced who seek to one day join the IGP.

  The shortage of clips of her available online only helped to soar her celebrity. Han himself had seen a few of them here and there, and he was certainly impressed.

  'Eli, hold on.'