"Don't look at me like that. I know you knew; I wouldn't have died from that. I can't say the same for you." The man said, swinging his short sword through my neck.
'Fuck... huh? No way.' I thought, blinking as I waited for pain or death—or at least for my head to hit the floor. But nothing came. No pain. There was no loss of sight. Just... stillness. I touched my neck, feeling perfectly intact.
"Haha, I guess your information is old," I said, forming a grin while forcing myself to hold back the pure surprise and confusion coursing through me.
"What did you do?" the old man asked, backing up. His voice cracked slightly as he stared wide-eyed at me, beginning to realize the body he had just struck didn't feel right. Didn't move like it should. Didn't bleed like it should.
"Hehe," I chuckled, letting the sound bubble from my throat while my body slowly started turning to ice in front of him. Bit by bit, my form crystallized into shimmering frost, smiling all the while.
"This fucking fox," the old man roared, swinging his blade in frustration before the entire illusion of me shattered like glass. Too late.
Boom!
The ground shook violently as the explosion engulfed him from below. When the smoke cleared, all that remained was a crater.
"Okay, now I am sure he is dead," I muttered, brushing dust off my shoulder as I stepped out from the debris the monstrous child had created trying to hit me earlier. The bastard really wasn't concerned about friendly fire.
"Master!" a voice cried out in panic. The monstrous child descended rapidly from the sky, eyes wild and bloodshot, throwing multiple black weapons in my direction without hesitation.
"Woah!" I instinctively jumped back, but I was not fast enough. One of the weird, jagged weapons clipped my left arm, ripping it clean off in a spray of blood and mist.
"Shit!" I hissed, watching the limb vanish into the chaos behind me. The weapon had sliced through me like butter.
'Those are stronger than before... or is it him?' I thought, clenching my teeth as I summoned more mana. The speed, the force—it was different now.
"Agh!" I shouted, slamming my staff sideways in a wide arc. The air cracked, and the monstrous child was flung off course, missing his tackle. But even in that successful defense, his claws caught my side, tearing into flesh and muscle.
'This fucking bastard.' I thought, glaring at the black spikes still floating around him. I could feel the blood soaking through my side. That's going to scar.
"You, you, you killed him! You killed my master!!" The creature screamed, its voice warbling with hatred and grief. Its body trembled, twisted by rage. Its aura distorted the air itself.
"Yeah , I don't care about your little BDSM shit," I grunted, flying forward and slamming down on him with the full weight of my staff. His body cratered the earth below.
"Ugh! You—how!?" He growled, more confused now. He was slowly regaining clarity. His eyes weren't as wild. That worried me. The smarter he got, the harder he'd be to kill.
"Hehe, how? You don't need to know," I giggled, spinning my staff and cracking it across his head, which exploded into chunks of blackened flesh.
"This is..." he whispered.
"For fuck's sake, now I know how people feel fighting me," I muttered, half-laughing, wiping blood off my mouth. My eyes gleamed with delight. "Hehe... but it doesn't matter. I got a proper punching bag."
I cackled, my voice becoming higher, my throat dry, and half my face hidden behind my free hand as I peered down at the twitching mess.
"Die!" he screamed, vanishing from sight only to reappear behind me.
Without looking, I stabbed my staff backward—straight through his skull. A wet crunch echoed out.
"Hehe, you are a slowpoke, hehe. I wonder how much you actually can take," I cooed, looking over my shoulder, watching him writhe on the end of my weapon.
"Tsk! KILL!!!" He shouted again, jumping back, his voice sharper, more focused.
"Hehe, more. Hehe, more! Yes, more. You brought me more toys, hehe!" I laughed uncontrollably, eyes glowing, as shadows started flickering into view around us. One by one, more devil children arrived. Dozens.
'Hehe... I'm losing it, aren't I?' I thought distantly, barely holding onto my sanity as my body trembled with anticipation.
"Kill her now!" one of the devil children hissed.
"Oh, but these can die, can't they?" I asked, my voice soft, almost disappointed, before I twirled and sent one of them flying into pieces with a flaming strike. Their body exploded into ash midair.
"Kitsuna!! Stacy and Kayda are on their way back. Just hold on for a few more minutes!" Nekro's voice echoed from across the mansion, reaching me perfectly.
"Hehe... you guys are fucked," I muttered with a grin, slamming my staff down again, this time unleashing a wide arc of fire that engulfed half the courtyard.
"You will be dead by then," the devil children hissed in eerie unison.
"Nah, she just told me I can have Wrath take over. Hehe... good luck surviving this," I whispered, a final grin spreading across my face before my eyes rolled back and the world went dark.
[Kayda POV]
[7 Minutes]
"First, they leave me with the bothersome family. Now I need to go and fight fucking devil children," I growled, running across rooftops with practiced speed, the wind whistling past me as I headed for Stacy's last known location.
Boom!
"Ah, there she is," I muttered, spotting a blast of fire erupt to my right. That was exactly where Kitsu said Stacy should have been.
"Fucking bastards! Just die already!!" Stacy's voice echoed through the chaos, followed by more blasts.
"Sigh... what an annoying enemy," I muttered, descending into the battlefield, landing with a thud.
"Oh, Kayda, you're here."
"Yeah. So what's the detail?" I asked, already flinging a scorch spell at a devil child, vaporizing it on contact.
"They've been planning this event for a while. There are around a hundred of these devil children swarming the area," Stacy explained, panting slightly. She gave me a brief look before decapitating another one.
"I can see there's a lot of them," I replied dryly. "Do you know where the original one is?"
"No. These buggers aren't talking at all," she said, annoyed.
"Hmm... alright. Let's kill them all, then go for the original," I said, nonchalant as I tossed more scorch balls without slowing down.
"At least you're here. It'll be way easier to kill a devil child now," Stacy said with some relief.
"It'll still take a lot of mana to evaporate it," I muttered.
"But you are you~," Stacy teased.
"...What do you mean by that?" I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Ah, you know—someone great at mana control and using it sparingly." Stacy grinned as she smashed a devil child's skull with her heel.
"Stacy, I am not in the mood for your dry jokes."
"Ah, okay, okay."
"So what's the plan?"
"As I said. Kill them all. Then look for the boss."
"Fine."
[4 minutes later]
"Where are they going?" Stacy asked, confused, watching the devil children scatter.
"They're not retreating. They're repositioning," I muttered, narrowing my eyes.
"We'll need to follow, Kayda."
"I know. Give me a second to think," I said, glancing back toward the mansion.
"You think they're going for it?" Stacy asked, half-turning to leave.
"Wait. Let's go back to the mansion first," I said, grabbing her arm.
"What? Why? Kitsu is there."
"Exactly. I think she—or the family—is the main target."
"She'll be fine."
"The original one's probably there."
"That would make sense... but what about the rest?"
"Kitsu can kill it... but she doesn't know how," I said grimly. "They're running, but they can't stray too far if the original is there."
"Ah. That's true..."
"No more waiting. Let's go back. I've got a bad feeling."
"You think she used it, don't you?"
"Yeah. We didn't explain enough about these things. She might've panicked."
"Pfft. Kitsuna panicking? I don't believe you."
"Stacy, your daughter is still human. She's strong, but she's emotional. She'll make mistakes if we don't give her all the info. Do you even—"
"Kayda, don't think I'm not worried. I just trust her more than you do, it seems," Stacy growled, grabbing my collar.
"Sorry... I think I'm the one panicking," I admitted, rubbing my face.
"Sheesh. You need a vacation," Stacy said, dropping her hand.
"That was the plan when we went to the Draig territory, Stacy."
"...Well, we're wasting time now. Let's go," she said, vanishing.
"Sigh... "I hope you're okay, Kitsu," I whispered before launching after her.
[2 minutes later]
"I guess we should've been worried," Stacy muttered as we saw Kitsuna hurling the original devil child through a wall like it weighed nothing.
"How long do you think it's been active?" I asked, concerned.
"Not long. I can still knock her out easily," Stacy replied, already humming.
"Please do so," I said softly.
"Yes, ma'am," she said with a laugh.
"I'll handle the devil."
"Alright."
Jumping into the garden, I sprinted toward the two combatants. But before I could reach them, Stacy intercepted Kitsuna, her fist aimed straight for the girl's head.
Kitsuna blocked it with ease.
"Hehe, more playthings~" she giggled in a childlike tone, swinging a bloody red scythe at Stacy.
"What the fuck is that!?" Stacy yelped, dodging the swing.
"What—reinforcements?" The devil child muttered, staggering up.
"No," I replied, appearing in front of him with a scorch ball the size of a wagon. "This ends here."
"No! I don't want to die!" He screamed before being swallowed in flames. His cries ended in seconds.
Bang!
"That was harder than I thought," Stacy muttered, dusting her hands, standing over Kitsuna, now unconscious and curled in a crater.
"Stacy... was that needed?" I said, walking over, my knuckles cracking.
"Ah, Kayda... what are you doing?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I want to beat someone up."
"You can't use too much mana! You're still needed!" Stacy yelled, backing away.
But it was already too late for bargaining.