The air shimmered, the fabric of reality fraying for a split second before I stepped through. I materialized directly in front of Mio, my sudden appearance cutting through the tension of the clearing.
"Hello, Ruby," I said, my voice calm despite the brewing storm.
Ruby's eyes widened, her jaw dropping. "Miss Sakuya!" she screamed, the sound a mix of terror and profound relief.
I didn't spare a glance for the girl yet. My eyes were locked onto Mio. The atmosphere was heavy, saturated with a power that felt oily and wrong. "You will let her go," I commanded. My tone wasn't a request it was an ultimatum.
Mio tilted her head, a playful, dangerous smile dancing on her lips. "Very well," she relented.
She released her grip, and Ruby didn't hesitate. Using her Semblance, she transformed into a blur of rose petals, reappearing at my side. She looked up at me, breathless and trembling.
"I just wanted to talk," Mio added, looking genuinely amused by the frantic escape.
"No! That's not what happened at all, Miss Sakuya!" Ruby interjected, her words tumbling out in a frantic rush. "She kidnapped me! She started saying she was going to put… these crystals inside me? It was so strange and weird and—"
Ruby paused, her silver eyes scanning me from head to toe. "Oh! And you look… different? New outfit?"
"You could say that," I replied shortly. There would be time to explain the evolution of my form later. Right now, there was a threat to neutralize. I shifted my focus entirely back to Mio.
"Well," Mio sighed, her amusement fading into a sharp, predatory interest. "That was fast. Now, tell me... who are you?"
"My name is none of your concern."
Mio chuckled, a cold, melodic sound. "Well, I guess we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which one is it?"
I didn't bother answering with words. "Ruby, get out of here," I ordered. In one fluid motion, I reached behind my back, drawing my halberd and leveling the gleaming blade at Mio's throat.
"Very well then," Mio whispered, her eyes glowing with a sudden, internal light. "I hope you can entertain me."
The air ignited. Mio unleashed a barrage of searing lasers, light cutting through the trees like hot wires through wax. I moved before the first beam could connect, my body a blur of motion as I dodged the onslaught.
In the same breath I countered, snapping my wrists to send a fan of silver knives whistling through the air while simultaneously manifesting a line of muskets that thundered in a synchronized volley.
"Is that all you can do?" Mio asked. She moved like a dancer, weaving through the lead and silver effortlessly.
"Not at all."
As she lunged forward for a strike, I didn't parry. I vanished. In my place, a deck of cards fluttered to the ground.
"What—!?"
Before she could finish the thought, I reappeared directly behind her. Using the momentum of my teleportation, I swung the halberd with crushing force, slamming her into the dirt.
The ground cracked beneath her. For a moment, there was silence. Then, she pushed herself up, wiping a smear of dust from her cheek. "That hurts," she said, her voice dropping an octave. "Let's get serious."
She vanished.
So fast! I thought, my instincts screaming. I didn't think I acted. I clamped down on the flow of time, slowing the world to a glacial crawl. Even in the frozen moment, she was a blur of motion, her hand inches from my throat. I twisted away just as time snapped back to its natural rhythm.
"So, you have time-related powers too..." Mio remarked, regaining her footing. "Just like a certain someone I know."
She raised her hands, and the world multiplied. Dozens of clones shimmered into existence, each one charging a laser.
"I can do that too," I hissed. I reached into the Void, calling upon the shadows. "Come!"
From the darkness emerged three silhouettes the Murder Time Trio.
"So, back again, huh?" Murder muttered, leaning her head back. Beside her, Killer toyed with her knives, and Horror gripped her blood-stained axe, a hungry grin splitting her face.
"You know what to do," I said.
A Mio clone lunged. Killer didn't even look; she simply blinked out of existence and reappeared behind the duplicate, her blades ribbons of red light. The clone vanished into pixels.
"Too easy," Killer chuckled.
"Don't get cocky," Murder grumbled, raising her hand to unleash a wall of danmaku that shredded the approaching duplicates.
While the trio managed the clones, I engaged the real Mio. Our weapons clashed in a spray of sparks, but the realization was sinking in: She's just toying with me.
Every musket I summoned was sniped out of the air by her lasers before they could fire. Every strike I aimed was met with a casual parry.
"Damn it," I cursed. I drew a deep breath, channeling every ounce of spiritual energy I had left into a single incantation. "Illusion Sign: 'Killing Doll'!"
A storm of knives and glowing danmaku swirled around me before screaming toward her in a lethal, beautiful pattern.
"So beautiful," Mio whispered. She didn't even look stressed as she pirouetted through the geometric nightmare, dodging every blade by a hair's breadth.
"Tsk! Light Speed: 'C. Ricochet'!" I screamed, hurling a specially charmed knife. It struck a nearby tree, bounced at an impossible angle, and sped toward her blind spot.
Clang.
Mio didn't even turn around. She parried the knife behind her back with a casual flick of her wrist. "Nice trick," she said, finally turning to face me with a look of genuine hunger. "My turn."
She charged.
From the bushes, Ruby watched in terror.
"This is too scary..." she whimpered. Her hand brushed against something hard in the grass one of the jagged, dark crystals Mio had threatened her with earlier.
"Mhm..."
BOOM!
The forest shook. I was desperate now, stopping time again and again, throwing every spell card in my arsenal. But it was no use. She was a ghost, a shimmering phantom that parried everything I threw.
"That's it! I am done!" I yelled, reaching into my apron and pulling out a small, hexagonal device.
The Mini-Hakkero. I didn't care about the consequences anymore. I channeled the ultimate spark.
"Love Sign: Master Spark!"
A colossal beam of rainbow-colored light erupted from the device, a localized sun that vaporized everything in its path as it roared toward Mio.
Just as the beam was about to consume her.
"I am back, da ze~!"
"Marisa, get out of here!"
"did you like that past me fired my weapon isn't that cool da ze~"
"get out of here!" the author said before kicking her off the chapter
"I will be back, ze~!"
"Stop breaking the 4th wall!" the Author's voice screamed in frustration. "Do I look like I'm made out of money?! Repairing reality is expensive!"