"Are you ready for the next fight?" Alicia asked.
"Please give me a moment to breathe," I said. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, counted from one to ten, and then opened them again. "Where am I?"
I looked around and realized I was on a plane. Sitting with the other passengers who were looking at me curiously, perhaps wondering why I acted like an insane girl, but who exactly wouldn't be crazy to find themselves in a completely different place after opening their eyes?
Suddenly, the plane shook. We were experiencing turbulence. I hope it was all a dream. I slapped my face. I didn't know how I got here.
Did Alicia bring me here while my eyes were closed? Was she trying to play with me, or did she do it because my enemy's here? It wasn't my first time riding a plane, though. The last time I did it, I was ten years old, with my parents. I couldn't remember much of it.
"Everyone, please put on your seatbelts," the stewardess said. "We are currently experiencing mild turbulence. Don't worry, everything will be back to normal."
I looked outside through the window and realized something was wrong. This wasn't just a mild turbulence; we were flying through the storm. I saw the airplane's wing get blown by the strong wind.
The airplane shook wildly and then rolled around. It was like riding a Ferris wheel. The pilots must have lost control of it already. We were crashing down. I had to do something. I had to stop it from crashing down, or many people would die. But how? I wasn't some kind of superhero.
Just as we were about to reach the ground, the airplane went back to normal. I didn't know what happened, but it seemed like someone or something was carrying us. A few moments later, we landed safely on the ground.
I immediately went outside and saw a man wearing a red cape soaring to the sky. I wondered who it was. It must be Superman. But how? How could he exist in this world? Well, that wasn't a question for me to answer, and what the hell am I doing in this place?
"Kaila!" Alicia rushed towards me. "I knew what happened. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. How about you? Where have you been all this time? Can you tell me what happened or how I ended up in that plane?" I asked, confused.
"Someone used teleportation magic. You just suddenly disappeared. It took me a while to find you. I had to go back to my little cottage in the mountain just to locate you. It must be your enemy," Alicia explained.
"That's crazy, someone who could use spatial magic? Did he intentionally bring me to that crashing airplane?"
"Perhaps he thought you wouldn't survive. How did you survive anyway?"
"Someone came to save us—a superhero with a red cape. It must be Superman."
"That's interesting. I haven't met a superhero before. Are you sure about that? Weren't you just dreaming?"
"I wasn't. I'm also confused. A lot of things just happened. I'm trying to put the pieces together."
"Spatial magic, a plane crash, and a superhero..." Alicia said thoughtfully. "They are clearly connected. The two must be enemies. One is trying to kill you, and the other is trying to save you," Alicia said.
"What if that man shows up again?" I asked.
"You have no other choice, Kaila; you have to kill him, or he will kill you. He's an enemy."
"I know, but he's strong. I haven't even seen his face yet. Can you describe him to me?"
"I think there's no need to do that," Alicia said. "Look who's behind you."
I turned around and saw a man wearing a black robe and a mask. He looked like an assassin. He glared at me while holding his dagger. Suddenly, he disappeared.
"Kaila, look out!" Alicia exclaimed as the man appeared in front of me.
The man stabbed me, but I immediately dodged. I kicked him, but before my leg could land, he disappeared again.
"Behind you," Alicia said.
I didn't see it coming. The man kicked me from the back. He was so strong that it sent me flying many meters away. I didn't know why Alicia wasn't helping me. Was she trying to get me killed here?
"I didn't expect you to survive that plane crash. You're strong and worthy to be my opponent," the guy said as he slowly walked toward me.
I struggled to stand up. My left shoulder was aching so hard. I couldn't even move my left arm. It seemed like my bone was fractured. This made me want to kill him.
"He's coming," Alicia said. She was there, standing still, like she was just watching a live-action movie. "It's time to show him the results of your training, Kaila."
Then I remembered that hellish training she put me through. That must be the reason why Alicia wasn't helping me. She must be thinking that I could do it without her help. I closed my right fist as the man charged towards me at the speed of lightning. I couldn't see his feet at all, but I knew he would attack head-on, so I met him with a punch.
The dagger was an inch away from my chest. I heard a cracking sound. My fist seemed to have broken the bone on his face, and blood streamed down from his nose. His clothes were torn apart. I could see his muscles. I didn't expect that the impact of my punch would be this strong.
The guy fell to the ground. He was still breathing heavily as he stared at me. "Please don't kill me," he begged.
"Ha-ha!" I laughed. "Why would I do that? You've put me in a crashing plane, and now you're begging me to let you live? That isn't fair, man."
"I know, but please forgive me. I didn't intend to do—" I didn't allow him to waste more of his words by trampling over his face until he stopped breathing.
"What a gruesome way to kill a man," Alicia said.