I expected him to lift me out of the way or protect us with some sort of barrier, but I watched in pure shock as he lifted his other hand to catch the very bullet between his fingertips.
The way he smirked with a sinister glare that was locked on the assassin would send anyone running through the hills in desperation, but it made me giddy with the growing need to get revenge.
Marianna's presence seemed more dominant in the back of my mind as Fuwa let go of me. I was behind him in less than a second, my fingers wrapping around the base of my wand as my magic was on a rollercoaster ride to charge it with thrumming magic.
The sky cracked with thunder as the snowflakes began to shift into hail blocks, but it wasn't going to stop any of us from acting upon our desire for vengeance.
Before I could make a move, Finnick landed upon the ledge right before us. The risky move made my heart skip a few beats, and I was about to voice my discomfort with him attacking head-on, but his bow had already materialized in his grasp while the arrow of striking death was being pulled back.
Heavy dark magic flowed around him as the winds picked up marvellously. It was a sight that captivated me for a few seconds as his pink strands fluttered upward before he spoke.
"ARROWCANDA DE LA VU!"
The spell was far different from what we'd previously experienced, and I could see why as the single arrow left its captive hold and began soaring through the air in a perfect arch.
The arrow then multiplied from two to ten, and with three blinks there were surely fifty, all of which met their targets. The assassin who shot the bullet screamed in agony as the arrow did exactly what it had the previous time. The hole in this stranger's chest cued his shocked expression. He acknowledged his obvious defeat and approaching death by lowering his gaze to the gaping hole.
His scream wasn't the only one echoing through the forest, as bodies fell to the snowy ground while hail continued to assault us. The balls of ice didn't bother me, for I realized that nothing was hitting me.
It was then that I noticed Connor was behind me while a massive umbrella that held a slightly transparent exterior hovered above us. Turning around, I realized Kaito and Jax were already present and fully geared up - Jax's hair floating with firepower while Kaito had his swords strapped and ready.
Connor stood boldly. Even though I was sure the coursing emotional energy happening around us must have been crippling in this intense moment, he didn't falter. Not even in the slightest.
I acknowledged each of them with a mere look, and they nodded slightly in return before I turned back to see Finnick push off the ledge in time as the first round of bullets from the remaining assassins went off.
Fuwa clapped his hands and spread them out with his arms in a wide spread, and we watched in amazement as talismans of black with golden incantations and red strings at the top spread along like a solid line before a wall of gold shot upward while another line of black shot downward.
The symbols burned with magic that pulsated enough energetic force that the bullets didn't even reach the wall before they disintegrated into ash. No matter how many bullets were shot from the rifles in the distance, nothing was penetrating through or getting close to us.
"They have reinforcements," Kaito declared, and I glanced back to see his eyes were in that void gaze of glowing purples and hints of silver. "Fifty in total."
"Find Elijah," Connor encouraged. "He's going to try to run away if the odds aren't in his favor. We're not letting him do that without some kind of confrontation."
Kaito nodded just slightly, clearly lost in doing what Connor voiced. I met his stern eyes and I could see the anger in them. Connor was normally the calm one in the heart of battle, but right here and now, he was blazing with a rage that made me want to quiver in place.
Though internally, I was loving every bit of this shift in attitude.
"I can deal with them," Jax declared and looked at Connor. "You got me?"
The way Connor looked at Jax held a deeper meaning within the intense stare. I reached out to wrap my fingers around Connor's hand, and the two of us glanced down to our joined hands.
I did it to hide the way his hand was shaking while the other was glowing with magic as it continued to form the protective umbrella above us.
"Connor," I whispered, and he met my eyes before I continued. "Thank you for the second chance."
He seemed shocked by my words, and I felt a little shocked at them myself because I had no idea if Connor was the culprit of this rejuvenated circumstance. His eyes were watering in seconds, but he blinked back his tears as he bobbed his head and swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Let's survive," he whispered with affirmation before specifically looking at Jax. "I have your back."
"You always do," Jax said with a sly smirk before his eyes bled to black and Jaxsin was in complete control. "Now it's time to have yours," he vowed and with a push off the ground, he hovered in the air and began to rise further as a gust of wind began to swirl beneath his feet.
I realized Finnick was the culprit as he aided in Jaxsin's ascension, all while Jaxsin's hands began to conjure spinning magic circles that I'd never witnessed before. They were a mixture of gold, red, and black, and they grew bigger and bigger as flames in the same shades burst out of his body and spun rapidly around him.
The streams of bullets rose higher up in an attempt to take Jaxsin out, but Fuwa's barrier was firmly rooted in place. With a clap of his hands, the magic circles that were hovering over Jaxsin's hands disappeared like shattered glass, but the gasps from the forest caught my attention as we realized the magic circles now targeted the remaining individuals in the forest.
My sense of hearing heightened so I could hear their muttered curses and words of panic, but I moved my head back and forth as I realized what Jaxsin had just done.
He made them into targets.
Target. Capture. Destroy.
Kaito stepped up as he pulled out two swords while his third remained strapped to his back. "Ready, Finnick?" he asked as his aura began to grow and grow.
"Ladies first," Finnick teased. Kaito actually looked over to give him a glare. Finnick merely chuckled as he prepared his bow. "You're cute when you're angry."
"I can't believe you two are flirting right now," Fuwa whined. "Stop bantering and go show off like y'all want just to impress my sis," he huffed.
The two of them blushed and took a swift look at me.
"Keep impressing," I encouraged with a smirk and a wink, leaving them both blushing before they moved back to focus on our unfolding reality.
Kaito pushed off the ledge and moved so swiftly, it was like he was a cheetah running to destroy his prey. He began to attack the targeted individuals, his rapid slashes making their mark on the assassins.
Whenever one tried to turn their gun on Kaito, they were impaled with arrows from Finnick. The hail balls were beginning to fall with great intensity, but I soon realized Kaito was being covered by the same umbrella effect covering us.
One look at Connor confirmed he was doing his part, and I knew we'd have a far better chance at surviving this one. There was one gunner left with a spinning target, but instead of Kaito or Finnick striking him, they both retreated.
I was about to voice my confusion, but the target on the man suddenly turned into a golden rope, wrapping around him tightly enough that he had no choice but to drop his gun.