Eating Your Weight: Weathering the Storm

I stared at Miyo’s body, watching the sparks of residual electricity dance between her limbs like some macabre facsimile of a plasma lamp. She didn’t flinch as the blue strands of lightning slid along her clothes, and my nose twitched at the acrid scent of burnt hair and flesh that made my heart drop in my chest.

‘T-there’s no way, right? She can’t be dead.’ I thought with dread, staring at the woman who had practically raised me all of my life. My pulse quickened the longer she didn’t move, and my fists clenched at my sides so hard my knuckles turned white, ‘Please get up, Miyo. Don’t do this…’

“She’s a resilient warrior.” Agnir said, making my head turn towards him robotically. The man was staring at Miyo with a placid expression, but I could see the pleasure in the upturn of his lips, “That attack should have turned her into ash, not just singe her skin. Oh well, at least her loved ones will have a body to bury. A fate I’m afraid you won’t share.”

A pained groan cut through the anger building inside me at his comment, and I snapped my head back to Miyo to find that the woman had rolled onto her back. Her clothes had basically disintegrated under the torrent of lightning and her body was covered with burns and blackened flesh, but as she slowly raised a hand up to clutch at her chest and made another noise of pain, I realized with relief that she was still alive.

Agnir wasn’t as happy as I was at this outcome, and the demigod frowned, “How strange. My lighting has killed much stronger beasts than her. That worm’s power must be truly vast if someone like you could stop my attack so effectively.”

His words brought me back to the situation at hand and I slowly turned to look at the man as the ringing in my ears reached a fever pitch. Now that I knew Miyo was still alive, I could focus all of my attention on the asshole who had tried to kill her in the first place.

A nail appeared in my hand with a thought and I pointed it at him, my face a mask of deadly calm even as my voice shook with barely restrained emotions, “When I’m done with you, the coroner won’t be able to recognize you as human or whatever the fuck you are you scottish piece of shit.”

Agnir turned to face me, “You spit fire but I have yet to see anything worth my attention. You should focus less on threats and more on action.”

You know that anger you get when someone says something so out of line that you have no choice but to either sit down and take it or beat the shit out of them until they take it back? That feeling that consumes your whole body and chokes your words in your throat, as if your very being is telling you that just talking won’t work anymore and only action would suffice? If you took that feeling and magnified it by ten, you wouldn’t come close to what I felt at that moment.

I grit my teeth and Abyss Eater glowed brighter than ever before, as if Nidhogg himself was feeling my rage. I gestured and seven massive orange sigils appeared around his body. Chains thicker than my arm shot out of the ether, shooting towards him like bullets. Four of them wrapped around his thick chest while the other three shot towards various points on his body, sharpened barbs aiming to skewer him like a pig. Agnir was unimpressed.

“Unimaginative.” He said derisively as he batted two chains away and grabbed another with his bare hands, shattering it in his grip. The drain on his power must have been negligible, because he didn’t even slow down as he reached up and ripped the rest off of him, breaking the solid links like they were made of paper-mache, “I saw your battle with that Devil and I hoped that you were holding back against a lesser opponent. Was I wrong? Or is this truly all you can do?”

I growled, the sound rumbling deep in my chest as my body burned with blazing anger, “I’ll show you unimaginative.” I said as I ran towards him, creating more chains to restrain him, “When I get my hands on you, they’ll have to cite your name in the dictionary to describe what I’m gonna do to you!”

Agnir destroyed the new chains just as easily as the others but I just kept them coming. Every time he destroyed one chain, two more would take its place as they fought to overwhelm him and take all of his attention with their sheer numbers. The drain I felt on myself was negligible as I was still brimming with the power I had devoured from the Evil Piece I consumed and soon enough he was having trouble keeping all of the chains off of his body.

As he was distracted by the chains, I ran towards him, creating a chained nail in my hand and throwing it at him. It soared towards him like a rocket, slicing through the air with a whistle as it shot towards his face, and he looked up and smirked as he saw it coming towards him.

In a blur of movement, the chains burst off of Agnir’s body as he flexed and broke through them like they weren’t even there. He raised his arm, deflecting the nail upwards with his massive sword as I stared in shock, and he laughed, “That’s more like it! But it’s not enough. You’ll have to be capable of more than that if you want to defeat me.”

He reached out and snatched my chain out of the air and before I could even let go, I was hauled off of my feet by his immense strength. Even as I let go of the chain, the momentum carried me forth as I was pulled towards him like I weighed nothing. I landed right in front of him, thankfully staying on my feet, and I looked up at the giant man only to be met with that massive sword coming towards me in a downward swing.

Orange light coalesced in my hand and I used my nail to deflect the oncoming strike off to the side. Agnir twirled with his swing, moving way too fast for someone as big as he was as he brought the weapon around for a second, much more powerful strike. Knowing that I couldn’t deflect it without probably getting cut in half, I made a split second decision and ducked underneath his arms, getting behind him and raising my nail high into the air.

I slammed it into his bare back and it sank a single inch before immediately stopping. “What the hell!?” I tried to force it deeper, but it refused to budge a single inch. It was like his muscles were made of steel or something, and even putting my entire weight on the weapon only succeeded in pushing it forward another half inch or so. Was this guy made of rock or something?

“Pathetic.” I jumped back as Agnir’s arm swiped through the air where my head had one been. He turned around, ripping the nail out of his back like it was a splinter and holding it up to see, “These weapons may have worked on that Devil but they may as well be twigs to someone like me.”

His muscles flexed and my nail snapped in his hand like it was a toothpick. He threw the remains on the ground behind him, before raising his sword, “I was told that you would be a worthy opponent! Where is the battle that I was promised? Show me!”

I blinked and he was in front of me, ready to cut me in half down the middle. I gasped and created two more nails, criss-crossing them in front of me as that massive sword came down, just barely managing to catch it in the barbs.

The earth splintered underneath my feet and my shoes dug into the mud as the massive man’s strength was put on me. My arms and even my nails bent underneath the incredible strength he was packing in those muscles, and I was even forced to one knee with the effort required to stop the blow.

Agnir looked disappointed, “I am not using even a fraction of my strength and this is all you can manage? How can someone like you possibly be a threat to our organization? When I look into your eyes, all I see is a child trying to play at being a warrior, a pitiful human who is not worthy of the strength that she has been given. It sickens me.”

“Oh fuck off!” I snarled at him, “This whole thing started because you attacked us out of the blue and didn’t even give us a chance to fight back! If you want to talk about fighting like a warrior, then maybe look in the mirror first and ask the man you see why he fights like a little bitch!”

Agnir didn’t seem affected by my words, staring at me with a stoic look on his face, “I wonder…” He said in an even tone as he pushed me down even harder, “If I were to turn my attention to that woman back there, what would you do? I failed to finish the job before and yet you still attack me with such ferocity. What would you do if I actually managed to put her out of her misery?”

The anger inside of me doubled and then tripled at his words. The very idea that this asshole would lay another hand on my Miyo was so unacceptable that every iota of my very being denied the notion. As the fiery anger burned inside of my chest, it brought with it a new, unbelievable source of energy. Magma filled my veins and my muscles, spurring me on and asking-no, demanding for me to rip this man’s head off for his threats, and who was I to deny their command?

“You aren’t going to do shit!” I roared, pushing back against his sword with renewed strength. My teeth clenched hard enough that I could taste blood in my mouth and the muscles in my arms burned as I pushed the sword back one inch and then two. Inch by inch, I slowly managed to get to my feet, pushing back against his massive weapon with just as much strength as he was pushing against mine. I stared into his surprised eyes, my voice full of rage and venom as I hissed at him, “If you lay another hand on her, I promise you that your entire fucking cult will regret ever sending you here. I will hunt down every single one of you before you even have the chance of learning where I am and I’ll SLAUGHTER YOU ONE BY ONE!”

I was screaming in his face by the end of my rant, pushing against his weapons with enough force that his arms were shaking with effort instead of mine. Agnir’s eyes were wide with surprise that I had managed to stand, much less actually push him back, before a wide, excited smile crossed his face, “That’s better! Show me those fags of yours, dragon! Show me what you’re truly capable of! Give me a real fight!”

“I’m gonna rip your throat out with my fucking teeth you prick!” I roared, gnashing my teeth as I pushed against him even harder. 

“Haha! Is that so? Then you’ll have to do better than this!” Agnir laughed, before his face became a mask of concentration. I froze as the smell of ozone filled my nose and the man’s eyes glowed a bright blue, and then he roared and his muscles bulged visibly as he pushed my nails back with a modicum of effort. I was left reeling as he broke through my guard like he wasn’t struggling just a moment ago, before a foot slammed into my chest so hard that I could feel my ribs creak.

The energy filling me fled and pain took its place as I flew backwards, dropping my weapons in favor of clutching my bruised sternum. I flew for what felt like yards, before my back suddenly and painfully slammed into the side of the rocky hill on the edge of our property. I flipped over myself, tumbling painfully down the very same hill that had begun this journey in the first place, hitting every rock and errant tree stump on the way down.

I landed on level ground with a grunt, coughing harshly as the air was forced out of my lungs on my landing. My fingers slid through the dirt and leaves as I slowly got to my knees, trying to regain my breath after being punted like a fucking football. My eyelids drooped and my arms shook with exhaustion, as if the power filling me had been ripped away and taken some of my own strength with it. It took me way too long to actually get back to my feet and even as I did I had to use a nearby tree for support lest I fall headfirst into the bushes in front of me.

“Fuck, that hurt. Stupid fucking trees.” I groaned as I slowly recovered. As I got my breath back, my mind ran through that last exchange and I came to a stark realization. Agnir was way to strong for me to beat. He outclassed me in pretty much every way and even if Miyo were still able to fight, I wasn’t sure we’d be able to actually put him down. If things kept going this way I wasn’t gonna be able to make good on my promise.

A noise made me look up, and my heart dropped into my stomach as several hundred pounds of wood and leaves came hurtling at me from the hill up above. I rolled forward, narrowly dodging death as bark and sticks splintered across the ground behind me, and I looked back at it in shock.

Did this asshole just throw a tree at me?

A loud thud behind me made me tense, and I looked back at Agnir who had apparently forgone the tumble down the hill and just jumped down. He smirked at me, reaching out in a ‘come hither’ gesture, and I growled as my anger reignited, running towards him as more nails appeared in my hands.

He reached out and grabbed another, thankfully smaller, tree and hurled it at me like we were playing catch. I jumped up and over it, flinging one of my nails at him as a distraction. It worked, and he deflected the weapon and sent it spinning off into the woods, which was enough for me to get in close and our dance to begin anew.

My first strike scrapped along the length of his sword, sending sparks flying in ever direction. I twirled around a telegraphed swing, before gesturing with my Sacred Gear. A chain burst from the ground and wrapped around Agnir’s legs, keeping him from pursuing me as I fell back a little bit, and another came up to wrap around his shoulders and chest.

“This again?” He grunted, ripping them off of his body. More came to take their comrade’s places and he huffed angrily as his eyes glowed once more, “Enough! These chains will not hold me!” He shouted, before letting out a roar.

My hair stood on end as the area was charged, moments before another bolt of lightning came screaming down from the heavens. It slammed into Agnir’s body and shattered my chains, before exploding outwards in a wave like an atomic bomb that slammed into me with just as much force as his earlier kick.

As the smoke cleared, I slowly got up, cradling my shoulder where I had hit the ground a bit too hard. Agnir was just standing across from me, watching and waiting patiently as I recovered. I grit my teeth as I stood, turning my attention inward for a moment.

“Hey Nidhogg, isn't there anything you can do to help me? I could use some more power right about now.” I said as I rolled my shoulder. For once, the dragon didn't ignore me, responding almost immediately.

“I have been. You may not realize it, but I have been giving you more of my power as you grew more powerful with your training.” Nidhogg said, “As it stands, you have access to around ten times the amount of power you began with when you first awakened. Perhaps a little more.”

“Well it's not enough.” I said as I eyed Agnir, “This guy is kicking my ass right now. I need something else, something that will let me go over there and rip his spine out of his neck for what he did to Miyo. What about-”

“No.” Nidhogg rumbled, reading my thoughts, “You have yet to prove yourself worthy of my balance breaker. If you cannot defeat such a paltry opponent without resorting to such a technique, then perhaps I was wrong to think that you held some modicum of potential.”

“While I’m absolutely thrilled that you’re starting to think I’m worth slightly more than the dirt on the bottom of your shoe, that isn’t going to help me here.” I grunted, “You need to give me something or I’m going to die here. And then you're going back to sleep for however long it takes to find someone else to house your scaly ass.”

Nidhogg growled at the insult but didn't comment, “You ask for that which I cannot provide, human. You already have all of the tools required for your victory. You must merely reach out and grasp it.”

As I tried to untangle that cryptic ass statement, Agnir had seemingly grown bored of just standing around. He raised his sword to the sky in a mirror of what he had done before he attacked Miyo, and my eyes widened as I realized what he was about to do and more importantly, that I wouldn’t be able to dodge.

“Follow your instincts, human. Use the power I have given you to defeat this fool.” Nidhogg said as lightning slammed into Agnir’s sword and he pointed it at me. Seeing no other choice, I did as he asked, raising my hands to block the attack and clenching my eyes shut tightly.

Thunder boomed and lightning slammed into my outstretched hands like it was drawn to them. The jewels on my Sacred Gear glowed and unlike my chains when I had tried to guard Miyo, easily withstood the torrent of electricity that had put my maid on the brink of death. By the time the attack ended, I was left with ringing ears, sore palms, and so much energy buzzing in my veins that I felt like I was about to explode.

Agnir stared in shock as he saw that I was still standing and seemingly unharmed, and I slowly looked down at my gloves, watching sparks drift between my outstretched fingers. That hadn’t hurt in the slightest. As a matter of fact, I felt good! Like I had enough energy to take on the world a thousand times over!

“Unlike your chains, there is no limit to how much energy Abyss eater can directly absorb. The only limit is how much energy you yourself can contain, but that can be easily mitigated with training.” Nidhogg explained as I flexed my fingers, feeling the new power held inside them.

‘I still have a lot to learn about this thing, don’t I?’ I asked mentally.

‘More than you can imagine.’ He said as I looked at Agnir. The demigod’s shock had since been replaced with wariness, and it was clear that the man was starting to believe that I wasn’t quite as weak as he had assumed. It was too bad for him that that realization came way too late to stop me from ripping his head off.

I glanced down at the sword he was clutching in his hand and an idea formed in my mind, ‘Hey, Nidhogg. Is there any limit to what I can devour with Abyss Eater?’

‘No. Abyss Eater is the pinnacle of absorption class Sacred Gears. Anything that is not directly bound to one’s soul, it can devour.’ Nidhogg responded in a tone that was almost proud. Whether it was because of me or his Sacred Gear, I had no clue, ‘I know what you’re planning. It will work.’

‘That’s all I needed to hear.’ I said, grinning sharply as I made two more nails and ran towards Agnir once again.

“You survived my attack and yet you’re still not giving up? Fool. This time I will make sure that you feel the full brunt of my power!” Agnir bellowed, moving to meet me halfway with a roar.

As I got range, I ducked underneath a swipe of his sword that made my hair stand on end and retaliated with one of my own. It scored a hit along his left cheek and the barbs on the weapon caught his skin, carving a long gash along the side of his face. He paid it no mind, continuing to battle me even as blood dripped down the side of his face and neck.

He was definitely trying harder than before, and if I had to guess, he had finally stopped holding back. Each swing of his sword carried enough power to create a gale of wind that disturbed the grass all around us, and if this had been even a few minutes ago, I knew that I would be toast. Thanks to the energy filling me from his lightning though, I was able to keep up. Not only that, I was actually faster than him now, and almost as strong.

It was like that earlier burst of strength was back, sustaining me through the fight as I blocked and weaved around his strikes and responded with some of my own. My nails were blurs of black iron, seeking purchase on his body wherever I could manage to find it, and though I relished the feeling of flesh tearing underneath their barbs, it was all just a prelude to my true goal.

I feinted a strike at his face with one nail and struck his ribs with the other. He grunted, the first sound of pain that he had made this entire time, as my weapon dug several inches into his skin, sliding past the muscle and into his body instead of getting stuck like last time.

I jumped back, dodging his downwards swing. The sword slammed into the ground, sinking into the dirt, and I took the opportunity that had presented itself, running up the blade and slamming my foot into Agnir’s face, before kicking off of him like I was practicing parkour with his body. My heel crunched against his nose, and he stumbled backwards as I flipped off of him, taking his hand off of his sword to cradle his broken nose.

I landed right beside his weapon and reached down, ripping it out of the ground with a grunt as I dealt with the massive weapon’s weight. Agnir turned away from me, cradling his face with both of his hands. His shoulders shook and a weird sound came from his mouth., and it only took me a second to realize that he was laughing. I just broke his nose and stole his weapon, and he was laughing.

‘He’s still not taking me seriously.’ I scowled as I rested his weapon on my shoulder. I could feel the power in the weapon, a sharp, dangerous energy that threatened to distract me with its close proximity. I ignored it as best as I could as Agnir finally turned to face me, removing his hands from his face.

He looked like an absolute maniac, wild expression and bloodshot eyes and all. He grinned at me with blood-soaked teeth, wetted by the blood gushing from his broken nose. He raised his hands and slammed his fists together, sounding more like a thunderclap than a simple fist bump, “HAHAHA! This is what I have been waiting for! It has been decades since someone has managed to hit me like that! Come, show me what you are capable of! I want to experience all you have to offer before you lie broken at my feet!”

“Yeah, hold that thought.” I said, holding a hand out to halt his oncoming charge. Hilariously, he actually listened, freezing in place like we were playing a game of tag and I just called a time out. I momentarily wondered if that kick had done more damage than I could see, but I didn’t waste the chance that he had given me.

I closed my eyes and concentrated and Abyss Eater glowed brightly, illuminating the forest around us as I focused on the energy in my hands and took it into myself. The weapon was covered in an orange light and a moment later, that light was sucked into my Sacred Gear as the object was absorbed by Nidhogg’s power.

Divine Artifact, Successfully Devoured!

Nidhogg’s voice rang through the clearing as I stumbled backwards, clenching my teeth at the wellspring of new power filling me. It was different to the demonic energy I got from the Devils or even the power I got from Agnir’s lightning. It was thick and heavy, moving through my body at a snail’s pace instead of flowing freely, as if it wanted to stay in one giant clump instead of spreading out.

Agnir stared at his empty hands in shock, realizing that his weapon had disappeared. He looked up at me as I panted, before his face twisted in rage and fury as he realized what I had just done, “You…! What have you done with my weapon!?” He demanded, rising to his full, intimidating height.

I smirked at him as I straightened, the buzz of power fading into the background of my mind, “Don’t worry. It’s in much better hands now.” I held my hand out to the side, calling on the power that was rushing through me. A magic sigil appeared in the air and light coalesced into a familiar shape, before something heavy dropped into my hand. Agnir’s stared at me in disbelief, and my smirk widened, “After all, if you’re stupid enough to bring a magical weapon to fight someone called the Devouring Dragon, then you don’t deserve to have it, do you?”

I looked at the weapon in my hand. When Agnir had possessed it, the sword had been a massive chunk of gleaming, silvery steel with glowing runes along its surface. Abyss Eater had completely transformed it, changing it to the point that it was hardly recognizable as the blade it had formerly been. 

While it had once been large enough that you could probably use it to cut down trees, it had shrunk down to the size of a regular bastard sword with a thick grip covered in dark leather. The blade was made of black steel that gleamed sinisterly in the light. The formerly blue runes glowed orange and a similarly colored gem had been embedded in the pommel of the blade, likely a conduit for my power.

I swung the sword, getting a feel for its weight. It was heavier than my nails but in a good way, more sure and sturdy. The runes glowed with untapped potential, and I momentarily wondered what their purpose was. I held it up to my face with a thoughtful expression, “You know, I think I prefer this look over the old one. It’s much more… me.”


I was purposefully egging him on and it was working. Agnir’s eyes blazed with a deep fury and the air crackled with ozone as he stepped forward, “You-!”

“I mean, it just makes sense that a weapon would emulate its proper master, right?” I smirked, turning to face him, “This way, when I do what I promised and replace your spine with my new weapon, there won’t be any doubt who’s responsible.”

“I’ll kill you for what you have done!” Agnir roared, charging at me with wild eyes, which was exactly what I was hoping for. All of his previous poise and calm had been completely done away with, leaving a wild animal truly fitting of the name berserker in its place. He reached out towards a tree as he passed it and gripped it harshly, his fingers digging deeply into the bark as he ripped it out of the ground, roots and all.

He threw it at me and unlike before, I met it head on. Gripping my new sword with both hands, I brought it down on the tree as it reached me, slicing straight through it and sending either half tumbling into the woods behind me. I smirked at my accomplishment, before my eyes widened as a fist slammed into my stomach harder than ever before. Agnir hadn’t stopped running as he threw the tree and while I was distracted, took the opportunity to slam his massive fist into my gut like a runaway bull.

I flew backwards but unlike before, I found it almost too easy to shrug off the hit and flip myself upright. Landing on my feet, I wasted no time in rushing towards Agnir once more, blindsiding the surprised demigod with my increased speed. He barely managed to dodge and keep his head from being lopped off, and the anger returned to his face as he realized that his attack had little effect on me.

We began fighting again, and even a blind man could have seen where this would lead next. Even as strong as Agnir was, he was still unarmed and now I had a new badass sword that sliced through trees like butter. Given these factors, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. As I dodged one of his massive fists, I moved past him, sliding my blade along his chest and cutting open a large wound in his skin. He roared in agony, turning with another fist raised to crush my skull, but I ducked to the side and swiped my sword upwards, cutting through flesh and bone alike.

“AARGH!” Agnir howled, clutching the stump of his arm as the rest of the limb flew off somewhere into the forest to be food for the wolves. The stump let out a thick spurt of blood that landed on the ground, forming a steaming puddle in the grass, and he growled like a wounded animal as he backed away.

I twirled my sword, flinging the blood off the blade as I smiled at his pain, “Damn man, that looks bad. You should get that checked out. Don't worry, I hear that the prosthetics industry is booming right now. You'll get a good deal for a clean cut like that.”

Maybe I was taking the situation a little too lightly, especially considering this guy had been kicking my shit in literally two minutes ago, but I couldn't help it. The catharsis I felt right now was too much. I wanted to humiliate this guy as much as possible before I killed him for what he did to Miyo.

Agnir’s nostrils flared and if he were a bull, I was almost certain that he would be huffing steam, “I am going to make your death as painful as I possibly can.”

“Funny. I was just thinking the same thing.” I said, eying him coldly, “The difference between us though is that I actually have the sword to carry out that threat. And, you know, two arms.”

“RAAAAGH!” Agnir’s eyes flared blue and sparks danced over his body as he accessed his divine blood. My hair stood on end as he ran towards me like a charging bull, completely abandoning any of his previous fighting style as he prepared to try his damndest to crush me with his bare hands. Looks like I had finally gotten to him.

I widened my stance, preparing to meet him halfway to finally end this and get revenge for what he did to Miyo, when the strangest thing happened.

As he grew closer, Agnir suddenly froze mid-step, and his eyes turned back to normal as he stared off into space like he had seen something in the middle distance. His lips moved silently at first, before his eyes widened in shock, “What? But master, I-No! She just got lucky! I can still-No. Of course not, master. I would never.”

I stared at the scene in confusion as Agnir had a conversation with the air, “Uh, dude? Could you stop with the schizo act and come over here so I can rip your spine out and shove my sword down there instead?”

I flinched as Agnir’s gaze snapped towards me, before the man relaxed, taking a neutral stance as he clutched his severed limb. He glared at me, “It seems that fate is on your side today, for my master has need of me elsewhere. We will finish this another day.”

Wait, what? I blinked as a sea green sigil burst forth on the ground below Agnir, spewing fog so thick and abundant that his body was almost instantly obscured.

“I will return and have my revenge, worm. Mark my words.” With those final words, Agnir stepped backwards into the growing mist, obscuring himself completely. Not wanting to let him get away with all that he had done, I followed after her, raising my sword above my head and slicing through the shadow of his body to score the finishing blow.

I stumbled forward as my blade hit nothing but air. I turned about as the mist slowly cleared, revealing that I was alone in the forest. Agnir had completely disappeared and all that was left of him was a puddle of blood on the ground.

I looked around, trying to find some indication of where he went, and I scowled as I realized that the coward had fled. I spat on the puddle of blood he left behind, “Fucking pussy. He talks all that good shit about being a warrior and wanting a good fight and he runs away when I've got him dead to rights.”

“He was called back by his master.” Nidhogg's voice emerged from my gear, “I recognize the magic used to transport him away. Had he ignored the summons, his soul would have likely been ripped from his body and tormented for the next thousand years.”

“It would serve him right. If I was capable of doing that, I'd do it in a heartbeat.” I said angrily, pissed off that I hadn't gotten the chance to kill the man myself.

“Still, this doesn't bode well. For that woman to still be alive means that something has gone wrong. I was certain I killed her last we met.”

“Yeah, you've got a lot of explaining to do, by the way.” I relaxed as I realized Agnir wasn’t coming back, looking down at his gem, “You said that I wouldn't have to worry about these guys. Why is it that less than three weeks later, one of them is trying to cut my head off?”

“I miscalculated. It would seem that the horse pantheon isn't a lost cause after all. You did well defeating this one. Even if he was likely one of the weaker of the bunch.”

The praise was nice, but that still didn't answer my question. I sighed, knowing that was the best I was going to get, “Right. Well we're still talking about this later. For now, Miyo needs my help.”

With a thought, the sword I had stolen disappeared back into my Sacred Gear. I glanced at it as I turned to walk back in the direction of my home, only to freeze as I was met with something that I had completely forgotten about.

“Oh right. He threw me all the way down here.” I said numbly as I realized that I was once again at the bottom of that incredibly steep hill, “And now I’ve got to climb back up this FUCKING HILL! HOLY SHIT!” 

Even now it was a pain and a half to scale and it would take me at least a few minutes to climb all the way back up. A few minutes that might turn Miyo’s situation from bad to worse. I screamed in pure agitation, turning and slamming my fist into the nearest tree. The bark splintered and exploded outwards as my rage-fuelled strike literally chopped the tree in half. The top half toppled over with a loud groan, and I huffed as I stepped to the side to avoid getting squashed. I eyed the remnants of the tree dully, wishing that they were a certain one-armed asshole.

I sighed, moving to begin the arduous climb up a nearly ninety degree incline made of mud and loose rock, when Nidhogg spoke up.

“Why not use your wings?”

I paused mid-step, not sure I had heard that right, “Excuse me?”

“I was waiting to see how long it would take you to figure out but it seems that I overestimated your intelligence.” Nidhogg yawned audibly, apparently bored now that, “You are a draconic hybrid infused with my very essence. Manifesting wings should have been instinctual. Focus on your back and picture the limbs that are not yet there.”

Unsure if he was fucking with me or not, I did as he said, closing my eyes and focusing on the spot in between my shoulder blades. Almost instantly, a new weight appeared on my back and I slowly opened my eyes, looking back at the tattered black wings that had somehow phased through my shirt.

I stared at my new wings, flexing them and watching as they obeyed my command without a second thought. I flapped them once and that was enough to spring me into the air as if I had just used my legs to jump. Another flap brought me even higher, and another sent me soaring out of the treetops and well past that stupid freaking hill.

I burst out of the tree line and was left hovering over my property, instinct guiding me and telling me how and when to flap my new wings to stay in the air. I looked down at my summer home, taking in the view and the damage in the yard where I had fought Agnir, and my eye twitched as a deep sense of smug amusement passed through my mind.

“...You’re such a fucking prick, you know that?”

~~~

Before today, I had never imagined I'd have to care for someone with electrical burns this severe before and as such, calling me woefully unprepared would be an understatement. Luckily, we lived in the modern age of the internet and finding the information wasn't that hard. A few quick searches online and a few minutes spent raiding our first aid kit, and I was pretty sure that Miyo was going to be fine. 

She squirmed on the couch as I finished gently bandaging her right leg. I tossed the empty roll off to the side and picked up another, being careful not to disturb her as I wrapped her other leg as well.

Miyo wasn't doing well, far from it really,but she wasn't as bad as I originally feared. She was covered in burns, especially on her upper body, but most of them were light and only a few were what I would classify as second degree. I was pretty sure most of the damage came from the concussive force of Agnir's lightning. She had flown pretty far after being hit and I could still remember just how much force was behind those lightning bolts. She definitely broke a rib or two from what I could feel.

As I finished bandaging her leg, covering the burns in a layer of soft gauze, I looked down at the woman's face. Her formerly long blonde hair had been singer and burnt and now laid uneven around her head. There was a large burn on her cheek that would definitely scar, and her expression was tense from pain.

My chest clenched at the sight, and I couldn't help but feel responsible for the woman's current state. If I had taken Agnir seriously from the start instead of joking around like an idiot. I might have been able to keep this from happening.

“I'm sorry, Miyo.” I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and her expression smoothed slightly at the gesture, “When we get back to Kuoh, you're going on vacation. You deserve it after everything you've done for me. .”

The word vacation caused the woman's face to scrunch again and I giggled softly as I cleaned up the mess I had made. Even while she was unconscious, Miyo was married to her work.

As I washed my hands in the sink, I froze as a loud knock emanated from the direction of the front door. It rang through the house and on the couch, Miyo groaned as it broke through the peaceful silence I had tried to instill to help the woman rest.

My face hardened as I put the dish towel beside the sink. My Sacred Gear appeared in a flash of light and my new sword immediately manifested in my hand. I was still on edge from Miyo's near death experience and there was no way in hell that I was going to take any chances while the woman was still recovering. If someone tried messing with me, they were going to get four and a half feet of steel shoved in places it shouldn't be.

The knocking persisted, this time a little more urgent, and I slowly made my way to the door, keeping my footsteps light so they wouldn't know that I was coming. I could see the shadow of two figures out the nearby window, and my grip on my sword tightened as I reached the door.

Taking a deep breath, I swung the door open, holding my sword just out of sight as I confronted whoever was on the other side, “The sign says no solicitors so get the fuck out of here or else–”

I paused as I took in their appearance. There were two of them, figures of varying height, and both of them were wearing hooded cloaks that obscured their faces. That would normally have been a cause for alarm, but the gleaming golden crucifixes hanging from their necks told me exactly who these two were.

My expression flattened as I stared up at the exorcists who would have shown up just in time to recover our bodies if I hadn't managed to get the upper hand on Agnir.

“You're late.”