(Lovely's POV)
"Why did so many Blade-quoinn appeared here--?" My companion, Pomfy, pondered to herself as we rush to protect the civilians that are frozen in time.
"[Lovestruck Grenade]!" I casted a skill as I fly away from the Blade-quoinns attacks.
A pink ball made out of energy appeared on my hand as I toss it, creating a big pink explosion.
"Don't worry about me Pomfy! I can deal with them so focus on the people!" I said as I shot out [Love Missiles] consecutively to the enemies.
"You say that as if I can carry them!" Pomfy said as she points at her catlike form. She might've complained but she's still protecting them.
I shot out pink flares to the enemies as their numbers dwindle down slowly as I wait for my skills' in cooldown.
"[Love Missiles]!"
As I cast it, multiple rays of pink light consecutively hit the remaining enemies as they turn to dust.
I slowly flew down as Pomfy flew towards me while panting. As soon as my foot touched the ground, I immediately felt it shaking.
"The shaking became stronger Pomfy!" I said in a bit of a panic as my foot glides slightly in the air as I rush towards where the rumbling is coming from.
"Lovely, wait for me!" Pomfy said as she follows me.
As we fly through the alleyway, more Blade-quoinns appeared, their distinct Blade arms leave marks on the concrete floor as they lunged towards us.
"There are more of them?" I asked as I fly upwards before shooting them with pink flares as I cast my other skills.
I easily dispatched them but they keep coming out of the distorted air.
"[Love Missiles]!" I casted as 6 rays of pink light pierce some enemies, turning them to dust.
We kept flying towards where the source of the tremors might be in.
But the enemies kept appearing.
It's a good thing that I can easily defeate them but its still tiring.
I flew down for a bit as I take a breathe, I feel my sweat on my face as I hold my staff tightly. Pomfy looked at me as she went closer to me.
"You ok?" She asked as her tail gently touch my face.
"Y-yeah! Just-- just taking a very short break!" I said trying to sound enthusiastic as she looked at me with a worried expression.
"Lovely, it's only been 2 days since you've became a card wielder, so don't rush yourself."
"I know... but there's a big risk of people getting hurt if I don't hurry, especially since the ground is shaking so hard." I said as she look at me.
"You keep saying that the ground's been shaking, then that must mean that there's a Shield-quoinn here." Pomfy said as I start to walk, albeit in a slow pace as Pomfy informs me about the Shield-quoinn.
"A Shield-quoinn is basically a walking tank. They're big, have shield for arms, and are very tough and powerful, the good thing is that they're slow." She continued as we walk.
"They're slow? Then I can just shoot them out of range right?" I asked her as she gives me this proud smile.
I picked up the pace of my walking when suddenly...
CRASH!
The ground shook so hard that a lot of things collapsed.
What-- what was that? Did something happen? I looked at Pomfy to see her reaction as she looked back at me as if telling me to hurry.
My foot starts to glide off the ground as I activated [Flight] again.
.
.
The moment I got there, everything was a mess, there are signs that a fight took place here as there are big cracks on the ground, the walls have marks.
But there were no signs of enemies.
The only one here was a person wearing a black coat.
"A person?" I uttered as I get closer.
"Lovely wait-- you know that regular people can't move during Quoinnins attacks." Pomfy said as she puts her guard up.
I looked at her and saw what she was looking at, I was wrong, there were signs of enemies left but it's already turning to dust underneath that person's foot.
I raised my staff, preparing for whatever might happen... but the person didn't seem to notice us as they started to walk away.
"W-Who are you!?"
I called out to him while my voice is trembling. I feel nervous for some reason, as if my body is telling me that I did something wrong.
"...Haa." The person sighed as they turn around to look at me and Pomfy.
They have a mask yet I can feel their gaze burning a hole through me. I'm scared, my body is screaming at me to run, to run away as far as I can.
"Heya! Don't mind me, I was just passing by." The person said, their voice distorted as they try to seem friendly.
"So I'll be on my way now--." Suddenly, flashes of lights went flying towards his direction as I look at Pomfy firing them, only for it to be avoided easily.
"You aren't going anywhere! Who are you?! And how can you move through the frozen time!" Pomfy asked as her paws were raised and aimed.
The man stayed silent for a second as he looked at where Pomfy shot at. The air was suffocating, as if he's staring down the both of us in anger then suddenly it's gone..?
"I'm just a guy though, someone just like you." The man said as he pointed at me.
He raised his hand as a black card appeared, verifying his claims. I felt relieved, thinking that this person must be an ally.
"A black... card?" Pomfy said, there's panic in her voice as she looked terrified.
"Now if you'll excuse me~" He said as he walks towards our direction.
Pomfy suddenly shot out light beams out of her paws as the man avoided all her shots.
"Lovely, get away from here!" She said as she tries to fly up.
But the man was already in front of us.
"Seriously..." He uttered as he pull Pomfy's tail and dragged her down to the ground as the concrete cracks due to the impact.
"Pomfy!" I called out to Pomfy before facing the man, my staff in my hand ready to fire a spell--.
Eh?
Why does my face hurt? Did I get hit? By what?
I swung my staff out of confusion, hitting air as I realized that the man ducked.
Crack.
I felt something hit my sides. My eyes can't follow what's happening but it hurts so badly.
It's hard to breathe. I feel weak, my body is suddenly giving out.
"I was just gonna leave peacefully but you guys suddenly attacked me." He said as I see him take a step.
I tried stepping backwards, but he kicked my leg and felt like it got hit by a car.
"So this is counted as self defense." He said as he kicked me again in the same spot.
It hurts.
It hurts so badly that I wanna cry. But Pomfy needs my help so I have to fight back.
I started gliding upwards to gain distance and fire from there but he grabbed my foot and dragged me down to the ground.
"Ack--!" I felt the concrete on my face as I saw him kneel down to face me.
I felt my whole brain panicking as he stare me down. I'm scared, I'm trying to think of something, anything I could do to get out of this situation but the fear I feel is too strong.
Suddenly, he placed a hand on my neck. His grip tightens as the only thing I can do is grab his arm to atleast push it away.
I can't breathe.
I can feel his gaze behind the mask, I tried to call out to him, wanting to beg for him to stop, but my voice isn't coming out.
I feel tears coming out of my eyes as I frantically move my...hands to remove his but...he doesn't...budge.
"Sleep well."
I... I..don't know... what to--
.
.
.
"Gasp!"
I woke up on my bed, tears flowing down my face as I immediately sat up. There's a sharp pain on the right side of my body.
I frantically look to see where Pomfy is as I found her sleeping beside on my bed beside me.
"Pom--" I tried calling out to her but my throat hurts... my neck hurts.
I checked the time on my phone and noticed that it's already midnight. I turned it off as the holoscreen retracts back to my phone.
My body still hurts so I don't think I should move around yet. I lie back down on my bed as the memory of being defeated vividly replay on my head.
I should've been more careful.
Just because I was easily handling other enemies doesn't mean I won't lose to anyone else. I'm a big idiot. A big, reckless idiot
.
.
Like usual, I went to school as early as I can. My injuries are healing due to my passive healing but my leg still hurts badly.
"...a black card huh." I uttered to myself as I rest my head on my desk.
"It's like the white card you have." Pomfy told me telepathically while shapeshifting as a keychain on my bag.
"If it's the same as my card, why did you suddenly attack him?" I asked her.
"Like the white cards, they appear when they find a candidate that they deem worthy. The difference is, they choose the worst people as candidates." Pomfy replied.
"What do you mean..?" I asked, feeling a bit worried with what I heard.
"In simple terms, people who are evil."
"Like murderers or stuffs?" I asked as she stayed silent.
"I see." I said, taking her silence as an answer.
I guess that means that he won't be the only one I'll encounter that's stronger than me.
"Vely!" Suddenly, I heard Cedric's voice as he sat on the seat infront of me, facing me.
"M-m-m-morning!" I feel my face starting to warm up. His expression turned into a worried one.
"You ok? Your voice seems a little hoarse." He asked.
My nervousness starts to fade as I see him look at me with such a worried expression.
"Y-yeah! Just uhh, I sang a bit too much last night." I said, making up excuses.
"Oh? I didn't know you like singing, that's new to me." Cedric said with a smile.
I feel my heart skipped a beat...but I don't know what I should feel. On one hand, he keeps talking to me like this, worrying about me and stuffs.
But on the other hand, he didn't show up on the rooftop that day.
No, maybe he didn't see the letter in the first place. Should I ask him?
"Um! About the letter I gave y--"
"Yo!" Suddenly, his friend tapped him in the back as he jump like a cat.
"You fu--! Don't startle me like that Juwan!" He said to his friend as he started to punch him but his friend just laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHAH God you should really stop drinking too much coffee, you dumbass." His friend said as he sat down on my desk.
"Sorry about butting in your conversation Lovely." His friend told me as Cedric pinches his sides.
"Anyways, what were you gonna say?" Cedric asked me.
"Um-- uhh it's..." I suddenly felt anxious, is it because his friend is now here? I feel my stomach churn from my own nervousness.
"Letter. She was talking about a letter." His friend said to him while looking at me, smiling.
He heard me! Nooooo! God it's so embarrassing that someone else heard me!
"Letter? Like the alphabet?" Cedric said as he tilts his head.
Suddenly his friend smacked the back of his head.
"Fucking dumbass. I'm sorry about my friend Lovely, he's not usually this dumb I swear." His friend said while gently bowing his head.
"Pftt hehe!" I found myself chuckling. I guess he really didn't saw my letter huh.
The school bell rings as his friend stood up and dragged Cedric to the front of the classroom.
.
.
I fell asleep during the last class and now I'm the only one left again in the classroom.
"Morning sleepyhead."
Atleast that's what I thought.
"Sonaia? What are you--"
"I'm here for the tea. Soooo... what happened?" Sonaia asked me as I stood up.
I grabbed my bag and started walking slowly, trying to not show that I'm slightly limping.
"It's a fail." I said gently as her jaw dropped.
"What happened?! Was it a harsh rejection?! Maybe you still have a chance you know!" She said frantically as we were walking down the stairs.
"N-no it's just... he--"
"He... what? What did he do?" Sonaia looked at me with her silver eyes.
"He uhh... didn't show up."
"Hmm?!" She reacted as her face started contorting into a weird expression.
.
.
"Seriously, he didn't saw your letter? That must've sucked." Sonaia said after finally calming down after half an hour of ranting while on our way to a cafe.
"Yeah, but it's ok since it's not his fault." I told her as we step out of the train, finally reaching the station.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to bring you to the best cafe I currently know to drink your sorrows away!" She said confidently.
"Sonaia, it's milktea, not alcohol." I told her while chuckling as we enter a cafe.
The inside of the cafe feels cozy, considering there's not a lot of people. Almost all the seats are cushioned and the light is making me feel relaxed already.
"Ah, welcome to Marron Clair, here's our me-- Lovely?" Suddenly, the person on the counter said my name.
"Eh ah umm-- hello?" I said in a panicked tone as Sonaia looked surprised since the person working here knows me.
"It's me." The person said in a gentle voice as he removes his face mask, revealing that he's Cedric's friend.
"Ah! It's you--! Umm--!" I forgot his name, this is so embarrassing, please kill me.
"Pftt, Juwan. My name is Juwan." Juwan said as he smiles at us.
"I'm sorry..." I told him as I hide my face on my hands, God this is so embarrassing.
"No it's fine! Don't worry about it too much." He told me as he handed me and Sonaia menus.
"I mean, worry a little since I do want you to remember my name." Juwan said jokingly as he smiled at me and Sonaia.
"I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused, how do you know who Vely is? Also I'll get a Choco Java Frappe with extra espresso" Sonaia asked with a bit of suspicion in her voice.
"I'm a classmate of hers, how about your order Lovely?" Juwan said.
"I-- umm I'll order later!" I said as I hurried back to our seat.
God I wanna just die right now--! I can't believe I forgot my classmate's name... worst of all, he always talk to me and Cedric every morning! Gosh I'm a failure as a person.
"So... is he really a classmate?" Sonaia asked while walking towards our seat as if still suspicious of him.
"...yeah, he's Cedric's friend." I said as I sigh, resting my neck on the soft cushion of the seat.
"Is that so, so he's not just a random guy trying to hit on you by pretending you know him?" Sonaia asked.
"And I thought I'm the one who overthinks." I said while chuckling.
"Well it's because you're a bit of an airhead." Sonaia told me as if she's about to scold me.
"A-Am not!"
"Vely, I don't think you know this but you're very pretty, most men would try hitting on you if given the chance." Sonaia told me as she points her straw at me.
"N-nuh uh! How can you say I'm pretty when there's rarely anyone that talks to me?"
"She's right though, you're pretty as heck. That's why other peeps are too shy to approach you." I suddenly heard from beside me as Juwan arrived with 2 drinks on his tray thingy.
"Here's your Choco Java Frappe." Juwan said as he gives Sonaia her drink.
"And here's your Tiramisu with Creampuff Milktea." He continued as he places the drink in front of me.
Tiramisu Creampuff! No wait! I have't ordered anything yet so why--?
"It's on the house." Juwan said with his eyes smiling before going back to the counter.
Why does it feel like he knows what I'm thinking?
"See? He's hitting on you." Sonaia said as she takes a sip from her frappe.
"N-no! Maybe it's just because I'm his friend's friend!" I said as I put the straw inside my drink when I noticed something written in the tissue.
'This is for the other day, I'm really sorry but it's kinda your fault as well.'
What does he mean by the other day? Why is he apologizing? My fault? What did I do? The words he wrote on the tissue confuses me.
I looked at him at the counter to have a bit of clarity on what he's talking about.
He saw me look at him and then picked up something and raised it for me to see.
It was a love letter.
It was MY love letter.
Suddenly, the memories I had of putting it inside Cedric's desk flashed on my mind, the memories of him and I interacting with each other at the stairs while going to the rooftop hits me like a truck.
Everything just suddenly clicked as I realized that I put the letter inside the wrong desk and made the wrong person go to the rooftop.
Please, I just want to hide in a hole and die.