Combat Begins!
Andrei immediately takes a piece of rubble on the ground and chucks it at Emma, who proceeds to deftly dodge out of the way, using the tail on her suit to prevent herself from falling.
Hero then jumped into action, blade at the ready. He rushed over to the powerful Vampire. Andrei attempted to stop Hero's pursuit, hand taking a chunk out of the young man's cheek before he sliced into Andrei's body with a newfound fury. Andrei winced in pain, both slices of Hero's blade cutting through the Vampire's very soul.
Dahlia jumped in next, pulling Hero away as she reeled a fist back for a punch. Andrei once again attempted to counter, or at least start some exchange, but was swiftly interrupted by a brutal hook from the massive Dahlia. I'm feeling way more energized somehow? Is it the same effect as before? A slight hint of gold could be seen within Dahlia's gaze, her power growing as long as Emma's ability is maintained.
"AHHH!" Andrei cried out, and just as he was about to attempt another bit of retaliation against his oppressors, a spear flew out from nowhere, propelled forward by an ethereal fire, stabbing straight into Andrei's side. He grunted, throwing the spear as far away as he could within this auditorium.
Whilst Andrei was distracted, the display of what Andrei referred to as the Skysinger remained. Sebastian seized this opportunity.
Sebastian stood up, crossed to the display case, and placed a seal on it. In that instant, the magical glyphs that protected this display case were broken.
"What!? No!" Andrei screamed.
"Hero!" Sebastian took the sword and threw it straight over into Hero's direction. At the same time, both Andrei and Hero grab onto the blade's handle. The Skysinger, a brilliant, glistening white blade, appeared to be carved from diamonds. Both of them could feel it, the power of this Legendary Blade seeping into their bodies. Instead of forcing this into a competition, however, Hero relaxed, straightening himself as he looked Andrei straight in the eyes as all of the blade's power went into him.
"W-What!? How!?"
"It's because I'm a Hero." He smiled, grasping the blade with both hands now. "Let go... of my blade!" Hero wrested the sword from Andrei's hand, momentarily overpowering a creature that by all accounts should be much more powerful than he was.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Three shots from Viana, one of them meeting their mark, causing the Vampire to stagger. Andrei stood there for a moment, gawking at the damage he had taken so far. "H-How... how could this... S-I'm sorry, Simon, I-I failed." They growled. "Shit! I--" His eyes widened. "Why... why am I not regenerating?" The rot on his body suddenly began to spread. "W-What!?" This monster, this fiend, began retching, blood pouring out from their throat. "W-What is happening to me!?" M-My body... I-it's stiffer as well... Andrei grit his teeth, then cried out as loud as he could, the entire auditorium shaking from his cry.
After a moment, there was just silence. "You think, just because you have the Skysinger... just because I'm like this now! That it'd make a difference!?" In a split second, he was at Sebastian's feet. One strike in the gut sent the Prince into the air before meeting him there, kicking him straight back into the ground with a sickening crack.
"Prince!" Hero cried out.
Andrei landed right back onto the ground, clasping both hands together before firing out a pressurized stream of blood straight through Hero's body.
Instinctually, Dahlia's body reflexively brought up her shield, and in that exact second, Andrei was right in front of her. BOOM! One strike against the shield, the impact sending shivers throughout Dahlia's arms and torso. Again and again, an onslaught of punches, attempting to bring her down, but she continued to hold firm, supported by Emma's bizarre ability. Eventually, though, she buckled, her arms feeling as if they were about to snap against the pressure.
Bang! "Get yer fuckin' hands off of her!" A shot rang out, the bullet not meeting its mark, as with just a hand out, Andrei blocked the shot from Emma's rifle. Due to this, though, Andrei had to respond with equal malice by using his very own blood. Once again, pointing at Emma instead, he fired out a shot of his blood. Emma recoiled, the shot hitting against her armor, nearly piercing her shoulder.
Dahlia took a step, getting right in Andrei's face, "We aren't done!" She put her full weight into her punches, feeling more like jabs to the more powerful Vampire before her.
Suddenly, two shots from the audience's seats, coming straight from Viana, both shots hit the newly exposed wounds on Andrei's body. "ARGH!" He cried, attempting to bat the bullet out of the way, missing his mark. From behind, Eaudix, the Eaglekin, unlodged themselves from the arrow pinning them down, falling back to the ground. Just as Andrei turned to meet his gaze, an arrow was pulled back on his bow and shot straight into the man's torso.
"A-AHHHHHH! A-AGAIN! I NEED IT AGAIN!" Practically frothing at the mouth, he cried out once again, his screams filling the entire auditorium. He took a breath in, looking at the rot spreading across his body. "Oh...?" The flowers recede slightly. "I can resist it..." He smiled. "To stop this rot... I know for a fact, though..." He turned to look at Emma. "I need to kill you."
With a sharp inhalation, he was off, disappearing right where he stood.
CRACK! Dahlia is sent straight into the audience seats, the wind knocked straight out of her. She managed to resist most of the blow, but even then, for that moment, it was the most significant pain of her life trying to hold on. It was only then, though, as he saw the man appear in front of Emma, prepared to strike.
"Shi--" Before Emma could get a word out, he began his onslaught. With a sickening crack, Emma is sent spiraling backstage, and all that is left is a trail of blood from yours truly. He spun around, firing out a pressurized stream of blood straight into Viana, the shot screeching through the air.
She attempted to duck out of the way, but a massive chunk of her side was taken in the process as the chairs surrounding her exploded into a cacophony of splinters and shrapnel.
Andrei scoffed, firing off another shot of blood in Viana's direction, not even bothering to look as more chairs were destroyed in the process, soon turning toward Eaudix. "I'll finish you off now... see it as a mercy."
Andrei appeared right in front of the birdman, swinging both times, but, be it adrenaline or something else, Eaudix dodged both of Andrei's attacks, using his wings to give himself an advantage in avoiding any damage he could've taken.
Just as Andrei reached out to rip off one of Eaudix's wings, as the flowers on Andrei's body had begun to wither, a shot rang out through the air, and where Andrei's arm was a moment ago was a blooding stump exploding into muscle and bone. What...? He thought to himself, looking over to where the shot came from, he saw her, barely hanging onto life, Emma, rifle in hand. "How...?"
"I'm wearing a mech suit, what do you think happened?" She leveled her rifle at the Vampire, firing into him again, hitting him in the leg, causing him to fall to his knees. "Finish him off, Hero."
He woke up, sputtering from his unconscious state, a hole still in his chest, covered head to toe in blood. He was unable to get up, but Skysinger wasn't any standard weapon, as it picked itself up off the ground, floating in the air. The healing ability from whatever Emma had was applied to Hero in this moment, slowly piecing him back together.
Skysinger lifted itself towards Andrei as Hero recovered. "Oh no..." Andrei wheezed out.
Two slices into Andrei's body, rending his soul from his body, killing him nigh instantly, limply falling to the ground with hollow eyes.
For a moment, it is just quiet. Emma held her wounds, collapsing onto the ground weakly. Dahlia clambered onto the stage, crossing over to her. Teachers from the Mars Adventuring Academy were called to tend to the situation, allowing the party to relax and recover while they waited to finally return home.
Emma's party sat separately from the Prince's, watching from afar as Hero was surrounded by the enslaved people they had freed, praising him for taking down that monster, Andrei. Viana rounded over to their party at some point, sitting beside Emma, resting her head on the backrest of a chair with a long, drawn-out sigh.
Emma gave Viana a questioning look, not saying a word.
"Do you guys have any open spots?"
Emma looked to Dahlia, and Dahlia looked back to Emma, both then gazing at Viana, Qicy straining herself to look over as well. "Yeah," Emma responded.
***
A day later...
Alastro, the Academy's principal, ran a hand through his beard, staring at the group of misfits that was Emma's party. He sighed. "Once again-- what are you three--" He looked at Viana, who averted her gaze. "Four...? Some agents of chaos?"
Exhaustion palpable on Emma's face, she shrugged. "I-I dunno dude."
"I nod with a pointed expression." He pointed at Emma, "I like it! Keep it up!"
"I don't wanna!"
"Too bad, seems like it'll happen anyhow, lol!" He clapped. "Anyhow, you're track record so far by all technicality is stellar! Keep up the good work!"
They were quickly dismissed from his office.
Viana left as quickly as she came, not saying a word to the party. Qicy looked at everyone, waving as she left Dahlia and Emma behind. "I feel like we have these meetings with the principal all too often..." Emma commented.
"I concur..." Dahlia sighed, looking down at Emma, groaning as she stretched out her overstrained body. Dahlia's gaze went from one of concern to a half-lidded stare.
After a moment, Emma noticed. "What's up?"
Dahlia blinked. "O-Oh... uh... sorry," She sighed, thinking to herself about something. "I'll head out, see you~!" Dahlia then went on her way.
"What was that about?"
Emma went back to her dorm as well, shedding as many of her clothes as possible as she closed the door behind her. A decently built body covered in bruises and bandages, limping to her couch and throwing herself onto it. Groaning, she pulled herself up to a more comfortable spot, resting her head on one of the pillows, practically stuffing her face into them. Her eyes narrowed in on the remains of Rider's body.
"Oh! You're back, master!" His voice rang out throughout the home, startling Emma.
"Y-yeah. You're up?"
"Yes, I was just resting for a moment."
"You feelin' alright?"
"You have not provided me with pain receptors, so I'm actually feeling pretty good, though I was scared that my head chip was going to become damaged."
"It's why you're on the cloud, buddy-- so stuff like that doesn't happen."
"How were your escapades in the outside world?"
"Principal just wanted to see if we were okay, I think."
"That's nice of him."
"He's a weirdo."
"You are too."
"Ugh..." Emma sighed, fully submerging her own face into her pillow. "That day... I think it was the best and worst day of my life."
"Really?"
"Yeah... it was the first time I actually felt like I was pulling my weight... doing something I could be proud of."
"What makes it the worst day of your life?"
"First time I've broken that many bones."
"I wouldn't know how that feels." Rider laughed.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Emma's brow raised, turning herself toward the door. "It's open!" She screamed out, slightly muffled by her pillow.
Dahlia opened the door, "Hey~." She said sheepishly as she entered Emma's dorm room.
Emma turned herself slightly to see Dahlia. "What are you doing here? Thought you were gonna sleep and stuff like I planned to since you left so abruptly outside Alastro's office."
Dahlia, quietly, closed the door behind her, locking it, eyes wide as Emma turned herself around a bit more, revealing her half-naked body.
"Dahlia?" She looked down at herself, grabbing the nearest pillow to cover herself. "Uh... sorry. I was trying to relax and stuff."
Dahlia crossed over to Emma, slowly.
"Dahlia? You good?"
Dahlia sat down right at Emma's feet, forcing her to sit up a bit more, relaxing into her couch. Emma stared for a moment, attempting to discern what Dahlia was doing or wanting right now, eventually opting to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, her knees drawn up to her chest.
"Are you okay?"
"I just want to be near you... It scared me... seeing you get sent flying like that. I-I dunno if I'm overreacting. My emotions are a mess right now."
"I'm alive."
"Yeah."
"You know how I feel now every time you almost die?"
"Yeah." Dahlia's ears flick slightly.
"Rider, turn down the lights."
"Yes, master!"
The room grows darker, illuminated only by the sun outside, which hits Emma's curtains, casting a warm, orangish glow over the room. Emma's hands slid into Dahlia's palm, squeezing her as tightly as she possibly could in this weakened state. Dahlia leaned into her touch, resting her head against Emma's.
After a moment of pause, Dahlia slowly craned down, looking Emma in the eyes, who looked up hesitantly to meet her gaze. Dahlia's other hand gripped Emma's, slowly taking her into an embrace as their faces inched closer and closer, searching in each other's eyes for what to do next. After a moment of silence, Dahlia kissed Emma. A soft interlocking of lips, her warmth encompassing her petite body as both arms wrapped around her. They parted for a moment before kissing again, all the while Emma struggled to get a grip on Dahlia's hoodie, barely able to wrap her arms around the larger woman.
Dahlia pulled away again, gripping the hem of her hoodie, throwing it off to reveal a white tank top underneath. "It's getting hot..." She groaned, looking back down at Emma.
Emma didn't know where to look, eyes darting onto various parts of Dahlia's body before eventually averting her gaze. Dahlia licked her lips, lowering herself down to Emma's level until their foreheads were pressed against one another. Her thick, calloused fingers glided across Emma's collar bones and defined shoulder muscles before trailing up the girl's neck and jaw. Her hand cupped Emma's face, thumb gently caressing her cheek.
Emma's breath shuddered as she watched Dahlia's hands trace across her body. "This is wild..." She whispered, almost leaning into Dahlia's touch.
Soon, Dahlia's thumb found its way to Emma's lips, pressing lightly against them before pulling her mouth back, forcing Emma to look directly up at Dahlia, who held what could only be described as a judging gaze, her red eyes barely visible beneath her bangs.
Emma's face became even more flushed than it already was, her heart beating against her chest. I-Is it weird that I'm kinda into this...? Emma thought to herself, eyes closing out of embarrassment at her own perversions.
Before Emma could expect it, Dahlia kissed Emma again, this time her tongue rolling against her own, causing her eyes to widen in shock, her entire body shaking. She struggled to gasp for a breath, Dahlia's hand slowly running through Emma's curls.
After a minute, Emma pushed Dahlia away, hot strings of saliva parting at their lips as she pulled away from Emma's shove. "W-Wait!" Emma gasped. "G-Gods, h-holy hell! You're ravenous, w-what!?" Emma blinked hard, trying to regain her faculties.
Dahlia's face was flushed as well, sporting a deep shade of red as her ears flicked anxiously. "S-Sorry... I... I don't know what I'm doing..."
"I-I didn't hate it."
"I knew you didn't, I could feel it."
"Gods w-- you can't say somethin' like that, girl..."
Dahlia pressed herself fully onto Emma, rubbing her face against hers, a frustrated look on her face.
"W-What the hell are you doin'? What are you, an animal markin' your territory?"
"Yes."
"Huh!?"