The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

"What did you say? When did I—!"

"Hey you two! Stop arguing! Where's Kiana? Didn't you realize she's missing?!"

"What?"

It wasn't until Miyu reminded them that the two adults, who were almost always at odds, finally realized it.

The little girl, who should have been trembling in fear after surviving the ordeal, has vanished without a trace.

Where did she go?

Before this question could be answered, everyone was caught off guard by Hassan's fierce attack.

They had no time to care where Kiana had gone.

"I hope he's alright..."

Everyone prayed silently in their hearts...

...

"Give me back my power right now! Otherwise, something bad will happen!"

"System? System!"

"Stop pretending to be dead!"

Kiana risked her life and took advantage of Rin's struggle with Hassan to slip away and hide in the bushes nearby.

The goal was to avoid attracting the attention of Ilya and the others after successfully negotiating with the system and regaining their power.

However, for now, this move is completely unnecessary.

Because the system... it's just playing dead!

"System, are you just going to watch me get hurt?"

【...Host.】

"Ok?"

Seeing that the system wasn't pretending to be dead, Kiana was filled with hope.

However...

There is danger behind you.

The system's next sentence jolted her back to reality, and she lunged forward, barely dodging the deadly attack...

Hassan, formed from the class card, slowly sheathed his dagger, intending to launch another fierce attack. However, Kiana had already taken advantage of his inattention and disappeared into the bushes beside him.

They started guerrilla warfare...

After seeing his prey hide, Hassan didn't waste any words, or rather, being formed solely by his class card, he had no inclination to waste words; he simply paused for a moment.

The dark figure then began searching for Kiana's whereabouts in the woods.

Thus began a game of hide-and-seek.

The loser will be mercilessly killed.

Kiana was speechless at this frustrating predicament.

She didn't want to know, or rather, couldn't understand, why the system still hadn't chosen to return the power, even now.

Would you be happy to fight your enemy like a tiger with its claws and teeth pulled out?

"Tch... System, I don't know what you're estimating, but I know that if anything happens to me, you won't be any better off. Understand?"

Despite Kiana's kind advice, the system remained unmoved and continued to play dead as always.

It's as if saying one more word would lead to some irreversible consequence.

Gradually, Kiana also lost the desire to continue wasting time.

She knew very well that if she continued to dawdle, Hassan, who had been watching her from the very beginning, would likely discover her.

At that time...

Thinking of this, Kiana crouched down and picked up a pebble from the ground:

"I will deal with Hassan next. If he threatens my safety, I hope you can loosen the restraints. System, I believe you won't harm me."

However, the system did not respond for a long time.

Regardless of whether the guy responded or not, Kiana began to deal with Hassan after she finished speaking.

This was the first time she had dealt with an enemy associated with a Heroic Spirit.

Although the opponent was only formed from the power of a class card, I was still facing a portion of the power of a Heroic Spirit, not to mention that my own power was sealed.

Once a direct conflict occurs...

Nevertheless, Kiana began her fight.

She would sometimes throw pebbles to attract her opponent's attention, and sometimes try to sneak up behind them to launch a surprise attack. However, her opponent was an Assassin who mainly fought by sneak attacks, so her tricks naturally couldn't gain her the upper hand.

Overall, Kiana was under a lot of pressure playing this hide-and-seek game.

"Oops!"

Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts, Hassan finally found her trail using his hunting experience.

As several throwing knives shot out, a horrible scar appeared on Kiana's cheek...

"Has it arrived? The moment of the final battle has come!"

In the woods, the sounds of the wind, rustling, and falling leaves filled the air.

Outside the woods, Ilya's roar echoed, followed by a deafening explosion.

In the distance, Hassan's clone rushed over, the dagger in his hand gleaming with a chilling light.

Kiana gritted her teeth, her azure eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

suddenly...

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for completing the optional side quest: Do you know magicians?]

[Ding! The system has unlocked a portion of the host's power. Continue completing the mission to have all power returned!]

"I knew you wouldn't hurt me, drink!"

Although she had only regained some of her power, Kiana felt that it would be more than enough to deal with a defeated Assassin card clone.

With the appearance of the Blazing King Sword, she, who was only the size of a loli, carried a scorching greatsword much larger than herself and slashed down vertically.

The power of the Plague Gem erupted, carving a fiery path through the gloomy grove...

Like a giant serpent formed from flames, it completely engulfed the enemy...

Sentimental Magical Girls (Fairy Tale): Chapter Thirteen - Useless yet surprisingly useful Assassin Cards.

The scorched earth, engulfed in flames, stretched out of the forest, and the rampant flames seemed poised to ignite a massive forest fire.

Fortunately, after unlocking the Plague Gem, Kiana has regained some of her power.

Under her control, the flames did not run rampant and spread, but instead vanished into thin air as if they had never existed.

"Phew, I feel much better now, but... I feel so tired."

Kiana felt completely exhausted after just one small, tentative slash.

Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground, not yet back to her former figure.

The scorching hot Blazing King Sword had become incredibly heavy, requiring immense effort to even hold.

To avoid exhausting herself with her sword, Kiana had no choice but to put it away and then sit on the ground, panting heavily.

"It hurts so much, System... Why can't you give me back all your power?"

As expected, the system started playing dead again.

Clearly, this tool, which is obviously self-aware but rarely intervenes, intends to stay by Ilya's side.

Perhaps it's because I haven't yet shown any signs of getting to the main quest that it's chosen to make me take such a risk?

Regardless, I was right to believe that the system would never harm me.

"We should thank it—"

'Boom!'

The deafening noise startled Kiana, who almost thought Hassan had returned.

However, the jet-black card told her without a doubt that the Assassin card had been successfully captured.

The explosion was most likely caused by Ilya losing control.

"Was the battle so intense that I didn't even notice? By the way, how did this card end up here?"

Looking at the simple card with the Assassin class emblem, Kiana felt a pang of emotion.

Even though Ilya took care of most of the enemies, the card ended up in her hands.

Is it just a twist of fate?

"I feel like something will go wrong if I leave it unattended, so I'd better pick it up and keep it safe."

Kiana picked up the cards because she wasn't sure if they would turn into Assassins again if left in the Mirror World.

Just as she was examining the card in her palm, the system notification sounded quietly.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained a special item: Assassin Class Card!]

[Item Description: Assassin's Heroic Spirit Card. They appear in groups of 50 or more, wielding poisoned short swords. They excel at stealth, reconnaissance, and deciphering mechanisms.]

The limited expansion is "Zabaniya," which transforms the wand into a clone of oneself.

Through the Dream Summoning, one can obtain the abilities of the Heroic Spirit Hassan-i-Sabah, using the Noble Phantasm "Delusional Illusion" to split the user's personality and create multiple clones.

[Friendly Reminder: This card requires the Dream Summoning ability to be used!]

"Um, you need to have the Dream Summoning ability? Does that mean it's useless to me even if I get it...? So this card is dispensable to me?"

Kiana was feeling a little regretful that she had obtained something good but couldn't use it.