Eating Your Weight: Overture

Overture

A low, guttural snarl ripped its way out of my throat before I could stop it. "You talk a lot of shit for someone I left bleeding out in the dirt," I spat, gripping the hilt of Kijin as it materialized in my palm. 

My power burst forth as I stretched my proverbial wings. Agnir’s eyes widened as my presence clashed against his, pushing back against his crackling aura as our power battled for dominance.

After a moment, his grin returned, stretching across his face as he laughed. “You have grown stronger,” he conceded, sounding genuinely delighted. “Good. Perhaps you will not need to resort to petty tricks.”

I spun Kijin in a loose grip, the black blade humming in my hand as I grinned angrily. “And maybe you won’t run away like a little bitch this time.”

Agnir's face twisted and I tensed my legs, preparing to launch myself forward and cut his head off before he could start monologuing, but I froze as the mist behind him shifted and two more figures stepped out to join him.

The first woman looked like she had gone ten rounds with a wood chipper and lost, but had enjoyed every second of it. She had choppy brown hair and tan skin littered with scar tissue. She was wearing practically nothing - just a few strips of fur that did the absolute bare minimum for decency, covering her crotch and breasts, as well as her wrists and ankles for some reason.

A pair of chained axes hung on her hips, clinking softly as she stepped up beside Agnir, and a small stone on a leather string hung around her neck, swaying gently against her chest.

The second woman, however, would have been like something out of my wildest dreams in any other circumstance.

She had long, flowing black hair that cascaded down her back like a spill of ink, framing a face of pale perfection. Her kimono was worn loosely, the fabric sliding off her shoulders to reveal an amount of cleavage that was borderline criminal, and moved with a liquid grace, her feet making no sound on the grass as she glided out of the portal.

A pair of fluffy, black cat ears twitched atop her head, swiveling to catch the sounds of the night, while two identical tails waved lazily behind her. She inhaled deeply, her yellow eyes glowing in the darkness as she scanned the area, before locking onto me and Sona.

“Nya? So this is the one we came all this way to get?” the woman purred. She tilted her head, tapping her chin with a finger, “She doesn't look like much. Have you really been having trouble with her?”

The cat woman’s dismissal hit a nerve, but before I could snap back, Agnir’s other companion spoke up.

The scarred woman let out a bark of laughter that sounded more like gravel grinding together. “Don't let her appearance fool you, Kuroka. This idiot already lost an arm to this little runt. Though,” she cracked her neck, the sound audible even over the wind, “if she's that much of a threat, why are we standing around talking?”

“Too right, Ylva,” Agnir growled, taking a step forward, the electricity around his spear intensifying. “I want her head.”

Ylva stepped forward eagerly while Kuroka simply waved a hand dismissively. “I'll pass,” she sighed, seeming supremely disappointed. “I have no interest in fighting weaklings.”

I blinked, watching as the woman hopped into a nearby tree and lounged on a branch, resting a chin on her palm as she gazed down at us with amused yellow eyes. “Please try and make this quick. I have other things here that require my attention and they are much more important than this.”

“That is more than fine with me,” Agnir rumbled, hefting his new spear with a grin that exposed too many teeth. He stepped forward, his weapon sparking angrily “I want to savor this. I will crush this worm's bones bones and relish her screams with my own ears.”

Ylva rolled her eyes, stepping up beside the towering demigod and elbowing him. “I’m here too, idiot. Don’t let your bloodlust make you lose your cool again. I don’t think our master will be very happy if you manage to lose another limb to this brat.”

Agnir growled a low warning, but he didn’t deny it. The two of them strode forward I tightened my grip on Kijin, the black blade humming in my hand as I shifted slightly. I risked a quick glance to my left and frowned as I saw my companion.

Sona was standing stiff as a board, her face uncharacteristically pale as she stared up at the tree line, her eyes locked on Kuroka who had curled up on a branch and was quite literally grooming herself with a tongue. I had never seen her like this, practically frozen in terror, but we didn't have time for whatever was going on with her right now.

“Sona, snap out of it.” I snapped, causing her to flinch. “What’s going on with you, dude? We kind of have bigger problems than the chesty lady in the tree!”

Sona blinked, looking at me like she saw me for the first time. Her eyes were wide and her skin was pallid, fear present in every inch of her expression. “Naomi, that is Kuroka, one of the most infamous Stray Devils in existence. A master of Senjutsu that is bordering on Ultimate Class.”

“And I'm sure that'd be terrifying if I knew what any of it meant,” I said dryly, turning back towards the current problems. “But she explicitly said she isn't interested in fighting. We can't worry about her with these two in front of us.”

Sona glanced at the woman who had taken to watching us again, and then looked back at me. She nodded slowly, conceding the point. “You're right. We can't afford to get distracted right now” She took a deep breath, her expression hardening. “I'll watch your back. In the meantime, I'll also see if I can signal anyone in the city. Several members of my peerage are taking contracts right now so I should be able to contact a few of them.”

“Sounds good,” I said, my grip tightening on Kijin. “I'll handle the fighting. Just try to keep them from ganging up on me, alright?”

Without waiting for an answer, I surged forward, my sword held back and ready to strike. Agnir stepped in my way, face twisting in an expression of eager bloodlust, but I didn't have eyes for him right now.

I called forth my secondary Sacred Gear, the boots wrapping around my legs and glowing as they did their job. The world blurred, and I shot right past Agnir, bypassing him completely before he could even bring his spear to bear, and reappeared directly in front of Ylva, swinging Kijin in a vicious arc towards her neck.

I had been hoping to catch her by surprise and score the kill shot instantly, but it wasn’t meant to be. I growled and spark flew as Ylva met my blade with one of her axes, the impact jarring my arm. She didn't even blink at my sudden appearance, instantly retaliating by swinging her other axe along its chain. I backpedaled, trying to avoid the razor-sharp steel, but the chain wrapped around my arm, yanking me forward with the force of a freight train. Ylva lunged to meet me, her other axe raised high and ready to decapitate me the moment I was in range.

Thinking fast, I dropped as low as I could go, practically limboing under the strike. I slid right past her, the wind of the axe blade ruffling my hair, and thrust Kijin forward aiming to pierce her exposed back. But The woman was faster than she looked. She spun on her heel, the chain attached to my arm pulling me off balance and before I could correct my stance, her leg snapped up, her knee burying itself deep in my gut.

I retched as bile flooded my throat and Ylva bared her teeth in a manic grin, looking at me like a wolf that had just caught a particularly wiley rabbit. “You’re pretty good. I can tell already that you use that sword better than that big lug over there ever did. Still,” she tightened her grip on my arm, her knuckles cracking audibly, “you’re nowhere near good enough.”

She yanked hard, dragging me toward her as she pulled her knee back for another strike. I braced myself, and before she could deliver another blow, I grabbed onto her knee with my free hand, holding her there even as my wrist screamed at me for even trying.

I slung my head forward and slammed my forehead into the bridge of her nose with all the force I could muster. The woman reeled back slightly, her grip loosening just enough for me to tear my arm free from the chain. I gained some distance, kicking off the ground and leaping backward, my wings sprouting from my back to carry me out of her reach.

She recovered fast – too fast. The moment I cleared ten feet, one of her axes came spinning through the air like a frisbee. I whipped Kijin up, knocking the heavy weapon out of the sky with a clang of steel that rang in my ears, and pursed my lips as I saw her following along on the ground.

Magic built in my chest and surged out of my mouth, lighting the world a deep indigo as the inferno surged through the air. Ylva abandoned her pursuit, her heels digging into the ground as she leapt backwards as my flames scorched the earth in front of her. She glared at me, slowly twirling one axe along its chain as she stared up, before her lips split in a grin just as I heard a noise from behind me that made my blood run cold.

The sound was like a mountain tearing itself apart, a mix of cracking thunder and roaring fury. I whipped around just in time to see a shadow descending from the moonlit sky, spear raised and ready to impale me.

How the fuck did I forget about him!? I cursed mentally as he approached like a meteor. I threw my sword up just in time, the runes along Kijin’s surface flaring like miniature suns as the blade clashed with the demigod's spear.

A shockwave of lightning burst from the impact with enough strength to rattle my teeth. Agnir snarled angrily, pressing down with all of his might, and the electricity arcing from his spear tried to snake its way toward my hands, but the runes along the blade flared brighter, drinking in the lightning before it ever had a chance to reach my skin.

Agnir stared at his weapon in shock, his eyes widening as he realized what was happening, and I grinned, baring my own teeth at him.

“Surprise, asshole,” taking advantage of his shock, I shoved him off me, using the opening to slash him with all of my might. The blade cut through flesh like butter, and blood sprayed in every direction, painting us both in a fine crimson mist.

Agnir roared as Kijjin cut deeply into his chest and side, a sound of pure rage and agony that shook the air itself. He pulled his arm back, his spear glowing blindingly bright as he prepared to turn me into a pile of ash, but before he could retaliate, a torrent of water slammed into his side with the force of a freight train. He was blasted out of the air, crashing back down to the earth and skidding through the dirt, tearing a massive trench in the ground.

I glanced over to find Sona standing a few dozen feet away, a magic circle spinning wildly underneath her feet and casting a fierce blue glow over her body. She had an intense look on her face, her hands raised and water swirling around her fingers like living things.

Agnir rose from the crater he had made, his skin and clothing smoking as steam rose from his shoulders. He sparked with residual electricity, and his eyes burned with a furious blue light as he locked onto Sona.

"You should not have interfered, little girl," Agnir growled, grabbing his spear in a sparking palm.

Sona adjusted her glasses, her expression cool despite the sheer pressure radiating from the demigod. "You should have kept your feud out of my city."

She waved her hand, and the air around her shimmered as six spinning magic circles appeared, arranged in a perfect hexagon in front of her. Torrents of water burst out of them with the force of fire hoses, shaping themselves into pressurized spears that split the air. Agnir’s eyes widened, and he had to jump away as the spears slammed into the ground where he had been standing a split second later, sending dust and debris flying in every direction.

Trusting Sona to at least be able to hold off Agnir for a little while, I turned my attention back to the only other person currently trying to kill me. Ylva was currently sprinting towards me, her bare feet tearing up chunks of earth as she moved with terrifying speed.

I raised a hand and focused my magic, causing over a dozen glowing seals to appear in the woman’s path. “Fuck off and die!”

Dozens of barbed chains shot out of the seals, writhing through the air in an attempt to grab her, but she simply grinned, raising her axes as she ran right into the wave of magical iron. I watched in shock as she weaved through the gaps in my assault like she had done it a million times before, batting away the chains that came too close with the flats of her axes, all while laughing at my attempt.

Once she got underneath me, she planted her feet and shot upwards like a bullet, the ground cratering under the force of the launch. I growled, bringing Kijin to bear and activating my boots once more to meet her in the air.

We collided with an explosion of force, her axes slamming into my guard hard enough to send shockwaves down my arms. She pushed me back violently, but I twirled with the momentum, using the rotation to bring my sword towards her waist in hopes of cutting her in half and ending this.

“Moron!” With a wild laugh, Ylva brought one axe up and then sent it down upon the flat of Kijin so hard I felt the impact in my bones. My eyes widened in shock and horror as my weapon shot out of my grip, the sheer strength behind the blow nearly taking my fingers off with it.

Before I could recover, she brought her other axe around in a horizontal sweep, aiming to take my head off. I threw myself back just in time, the cold steel of the axe grazing my neck. We both tumbled toward the ground, landing hard a small distance apart. I hit the dirt and rolled, coming up to one knee and panting heavily while Ylva landed on her feet across from me.

I eyed the woman warily as she rolled her shoulders, looking like she’d just gone for a light jog. Nearby, Kijin lay in the grass, having thankfully fallen right next to me and I scrambled forward and snatched up the hilt, bringing it to bear once more.

“You’re pretty goddamn strong,” I called out, climbing back to my feet. “What kind of magic fuckery are you pulling off?”

Ylva simply laughed, a deep, throaty sound that echoed across the battlefield. She rested her axes on her shoulders, looking entirely too relaxed for someone who’d just been in a pitched battle. She didn’t even seem tired.. “You think that if I tell you, you’ll find some clever way to take me down?”

I chuckled, shifting my stance. “Well, the thought did cross my mind, yes.”

“Well, you’re out of luck.” She smirked, tapping the stone hanging around her neck. “My strength comes from nature itself. The runes carved into my bones give me nearly infinite stamina, and strength far beyond my means. You won’t be able to think your way out of this one.”

Lovely. So that meant that strength contests were completely out of the picture, as were ones of endurance. I was already a bit tired from our constant exchanges, but like she said, she wasn’t tired in the least. 

Plan C, then.

I took a deep breath, and thrust a hand out. A magic circle glowed in my palm and grew larger as I pumped more magic into it, quickly growing until it was larger than me by half. I gave the woman an intense look even as sweat beaded on my brow. 

"Let's try this then."

Ylva didn't even bother raising her axes, seemingly unimpressed by the glowing circle spinning in front of me. "So blatantly? I don't know what you expect to accomplish by giving me so much room to dodge"

I didn't bother with a comeback. I just dumped as much magic into the circle that it could take. Orange light bathed the world around us as almost half of my reserves drained in an instant, and the magical seal wavered as it struggled to contain what I was putting into it.

Ylva's stance seemed to relax as she saw me struggle to maintain control over the spell. She smirked, and her mouth opened as she prepared to taunt me for my apparent mistake, but that was what I was waiting for, that infinitesimal lowering of her guard gave me the exact opening I needed.

The circle detonated, but it didn't fail. Instead the magic flowed outwards over the battlefield and then reformed, coalescing into a hundred small disks that filled the air around her like a minefield. The woman’s eyes went wide, her head snapping around as she realized she was suddenly surrounded on all sides.

“What the–!”

“Gotcha,” I grinned, clenching my fist as Abyss Eater sang.

The circles glowed, and the air around Ylva turned into a writhing storm of iron. Hundreds, if not thousands of tiny chains burst from the seals, moving so fast they seemed to blur. They crisscrossed through the air, creating a web of overlapping steel that left absolutely no method of escape.

Still, Ylva tried. She twisted and turned, axes flashing as she batted away the first wave and dodged about half of the second, but there were simply too many. A chain wrapped around her wrist, then another snagged her ankle. With every movement she made to free herself, three more latched onto her limbs, binding her tighter and tighter until she was cocooned in my magic.

She hit the ground with a heavy thud, struggling furiously against her restraints. She snarled gnashed her teeth, glaring at me with fury as she was bound.

"I see why Agnir hates you so much," she said, the veins in her neck flexing as she tried to escape. She grunted, straining hard, "You're a tricky little shit, aren't you? But this won't be enough to hold me!"

Horrifyingly, she was actually right. Even with my chains draining her, and even with hundreds of pounds of magical iron constricting every single part of her body, the cocoon began to move. My chains groaned, links popping and snapping like twigs as she flexed muscles that shouldn't have been capable of such force. She was making terrifying progress, snapping the thick iron like it was twine.

I could feel my reserves swelling, refilling rapidly as the chains did their work, drinking their fill of Ylva's energy. It was a rush, but I could tell wasn't enough to keep her contained forever. She was just too strong. Even now, I could feel the flow start to waver as my chains dispelled under her might.

What the fuck is this woman? I wondered as I watched the cocoon, which by all means should have been able to keep something as large as Nidhogg contained for at least a moment, struggle to keep her down.

I raised a hand, creating even more chains to keep her bound, but I knew it was only delaying the inevitable. I needed to end this now.

I glanced over my shoulder, catching Sona’s eye. She had just blasted Agnir away with another torrent of water. The man was soaked to the bone, littered with cuts, and looked supremely pissed off, but before he could get up, another torrent of water slammed into the back of his head, sending him face down into the dirt. That was my chance.

“Sona!” I screamed, and she turned my way. She took in the situation in an instant, eyes narrowing behind her glasses, before she shifted her attention away from the berserk demigod she was keeping at bay and thrust a hand in my direction instead. 

The water swirling around her shifted and poured towards Ylva, engulfing her immediately in a bright blue bubble. Sona grunted, no doubt feeling the strain of both the woman's strength and my chains draining her spell, but the bubble only wavered for a second before snapping back into place. I could feel Ylva struggling even harder now, but the water made it ten times as hard for her to exert any force.

Sona wasn't done yet, either. Raising her other hand, another spell spun to life, glowing brighter than the other one. The temperature across the battlefield plummeted, frost creeping over the grass beside Ylva's cocoon, and I watched as her watery prison began to turn white, freezing over like a lake in winter.

My relief was short-lived. While Sona was focused on freezing Ylva, Agnir had finally recovered. I saw the man rising from the mud, his eyes burning with hate as he locked onto Sona’s exposed back. With a roar, he lunged, his spear raised for a killing blow.

I didn't think. I just moved. I released my hold on Ylva, the chains dissipating as I reactivated my boots and surged towards the man before he could kill my friend. The world bent, colors and sounds blurring as I streaked across the battlefield, the sound of Agnir’s furious roar stretching in my ear as my speed reached new heights.

I reappeared directly in Agnir’s path, Kijin already screaming towards his neck. The demigod’s eyes widened in shock, but his instincts saved him as he twisted his body desperately, abandoning his thrust to bring his spear up in a clumsy defense.

My blade crashed into the shaft of his spear, the impact ringing like a thunderclap. The wood of his weapon groaned and splintered, the force of my blow driving his own spear into his shoulder and knocking him off balance. He stumbled back, roaring in frustration as blood oozed from a fresh gash across his collarbone where I’d slipped past his guard.

“Eyes up, fucker!” I snarled, pressing the advantage. I spun and brought Kijin around in a vicious backhand slash. Agnir tried to bring his broken spear up to parry, but I was moving too fast, fueled by panic and the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

The blade bit deep into his side, shearing through leather and muscle. Agnir howled, stumbling back as blood sprayed across the grass, but the wound didn't slow him down like it should have; instead, it seemed to only infuriate him further. He swung the shattered remains of his spear like a club, forcing me to leap back to avoid being brained as he grabbed the remaining haft in a bloody hand.

"You annoying worm!" he roared, electricity crackling wildly around his body, arcing off his skin and scorching the earth. "I will turn you to ash!"

Agnir was turning into a lightning rod of pure rage, the arcs of electricity lashing out so wildly that I could feel the static in my hair. He roared, his voice cracking as he lunged forward, abandoning all technique for brute force, and I met him head-on, my boots glowing brightly as I used them to their fullest.

We became a blur of steel and sparks. His spear was a jagged ruin, but he wielded it like a dagger, trying to shiv me with what remained and bleed me out right here. I managed to parry a thrust that would have skewered me through the shoulder, the impact rattling my teeth and sending shockwaves down my arms before I had to block another.

“You can't win!” he bellowed, raining down a flurry of strikes that I deflected by a hair's breadth. “You are nothing! A worm! A thief!”

“I'm a thief who took your arm and your sword!” I spat back, ducking under a sweeping arc of electricity that singed my hair. “And now I’m gonna take the rest too!”

I surged forward, sliding between his legs and slashing at the back of his knees. Agnir bellowed as Kijin bit deep, forcing him to one knee, before spun wildly, his massive fist catching me in the ribs and launching me across the hill. I tumbled through the dirt, gasping for air, but forced myself back up instantly just in time to catch his spear with a hand, leaving the sparking tip just inches from my chest.

Agnir wasn't nearly as strong as Ylva – hell, he was barely stronger than me – but it was still a struggle to keep it away from me. Abyss Eater flared but nothing happened, and I grunted harshly as the spear inched closer. Whatever was empowering it, I couldn't absorb it.

I glared up at him, baring my teeth as we struggled for dominance. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"This is the end for you, worm," Agnir growled, his face inches from mine. The heat of his breath washed over me, smelling like shit and blood as he pushed down with everything he had, the tip of the spear slowly denting the skin above my heart and sending sparks washing over my clothes. "I will have my vengeance."

“You’re just a sore loser,” I gritted out, my arm trembling under the strain as a familiar heat began to build in my chest and throat. “Go back to whatever rock you crawled out from and leave… me… ALONE!”

On the last word, my jaw clicked open and a torrent of purple fire erupted from my throat, engulfing Agnir’s face.

I expected him to scream, to recoil and flail blindly as the flames seared his flesh. But he didn't. Instead, he roared, a sound of sheer, mindless fury, and pushed down even harder. The flames washed over us both, a blinding stream of purple violence, but he refused to pull away, determined to drive that spear through my chest even if it meant losing his own face in the process.

I kept the stream up, but soon my lungs screamed for air, the fire consuming my oxygen faster than I could replace it. With a ragged gasp, I cut the stream off and fell back, heaving for breath. 

The smoke cleared slowly, and when it finally cleared enough that I could see my opponent, my stomach turned at the sight. I knew that my flame breath had a tendency to suck the life out of things, but I’d never had anyone take that much for that long. I was kinda glad I didn’t.

Agnir looked like a corpse, plain and simple. He looked like a corpse that had been rotting in a swamp for a month, an emaciated husk that barely resembled a human anymore. His skin was sickly grey and cracked, pulled tight over his skull. His lips had withered away completely, peeled back to reveal yellow, rotting teeth and black, receding gums. One of his eyes was clouded over, completely white, while the other still burned with hatred, staring into my soul.

And yet, even as his body seemed to crumble, his grip on the spear didn't falter. He jerked his arm forward another inch, his spear biting into my flesh and making me gasp, and his grotesque grin seemed to widen, relishing what was to come.

But then, a rush of stolen energy surged through my veins, a cocktail of electric power stolen directly from the man before that made my nerve endings sing. With a feral grin, I grabbed the broken shaft with my left hand, stopping it dead in its tracks before it could move forward another millimeter. Agnir’s remaining eye widened in shock and he tried to shove it forward, his muscles straining, but he might as well have been trying to move a mountain. 

“No so strong now, are you?” I growled, my voice dripping with satisfaction.

"You stole… my strength!" he wheezed in a dry voice, “My life!”

“And it tastes like shit,” I spat viciously.

With the stolen strength currently coursing through me, holding his spear at bay was trivial. I reared back with my right arm, Abyss Eater gauntlet glowing with a malevolent light, and swung.

My fist connected with the side of his head with a sickening sound, the sound of bone splintering audible even over the crackling spearhead. Agnir’s head snapped violently to the side, and an explosion of warm, sticky liquid washed over me, drenching my face and hair in his blood.

He finally reeled back, his legs wobbling beneath him as the brain damage did its job. He looked dazed, his one good eye struggling to focus, and got to his feet. He stumbled and swayed like a drunken giant, the spear slipping from nerveless fingers to clatter uselessly against the grass. 

I stood up after him and created a single nail as he stumbled backwards, then I lunged forward and drove the nail deep into the side of his skull with a wet crunch, not giving him the chance to recover or fight back.

I twisted once and then stepped back, watching him closely. He stayed there for a moment, swaying back and forth, before his remaining eye glazed over completely and Agnir crashed to the ground, the impact shaking the earth beneath my boots and kicking up a cloud of dust. I stared down at him, my chest heaving, watching as the light faded from his eyes and the last spark of his stolen vitality was sucked dry by my nail.

Silence fell over the arena, heavy and oppressive. I stared at Agnir’s corpse for a long moment, before sneering and spitting a glob of blood onto his husklike face.

“That was for Miyo, bastard,” I said, before turning away to rejoin Sona, leaving him there to rot.

Sona was standing where I had left her, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She had her glasses off and was wiping them on her skirt, staring intently at a large sphere of ice in the middle of the clearing that contained Ylva. My boots stopped glowing as I walked up, completely out of juice, butI ignored it and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“You alright?” I asked softly.

Sona flinched slightly at the contact before slipping her glasses back on, her eyes still fixed on the frozen prison. “I am afraid that ice magic is my sister's strong suit, not mine. Utilizing it to that degree is quite exhausting for me.”  She adjusted the frames, letting out a long, tired sigh. “Still, I think I did a good enough job. I doubt she'll be waking up from that anytime soon.”

As if on cue, the massive globe of ice let out a low, ominous groan. Both of us tensed as cracks began to spiderweb across the surface with the sound of shattering glass, and a moment later, the entire structure collapsed, breaking apart into hundreds of chunks of blood-soaked ice.

Among the debris lay what was left of Ylva, or well, what was left of her. Whatever was making her so strong didn’t seem to increase her durability all that much, and so when the ice fell apart, so did she. It was a gruesome sight, but I couldn’t deny that I was relieved. The woman wasn't getting back up from that.

Silence settled over the clearing, the only sound being the heavy rustle of wind through the trees. Despite being full of stolen energy, I was still exhausted. And sticky. I wiped some of Agnir’s dried blood from my cheek, grimacing at the crusty feeling, and glanced at Sona.

“Sooooo…,” I started, giving her a crooked grin. “Do you want that top-up now?”

Sona blinked, before a small, genuine chuckle escaped her mouth. “To tell you the truth, I–" 

“That was certainly quite the show, nya.”

Sona’s smile vanished instantly and my head snapped toward the edge of the clearing where the voice had come from, my heart skipping a beat.

Kuroka was no longer languishing in her tree, instead sitting up with one leg dangling off the branch, swinging back and forth. Her eyes bore into us with keen interest, and a small smile slipped over her face as she reminded us she was there, “To tell you the truth, I didn't expect you two to actually win against them. Bravo.”

Kuroka stretched languidly, her tails swishing behind her. “But I still have a job to do and a sister to see, so…”

She disappeared. I froze, my breath catching in my throat as air behind me stirred, and before I could even turn, a soft hand pressed flat against my chest, just between my breasts.

The world seemed to stop. The hand against my chest was gentle, almost caressing, but the power radiating from that single point of contact made my blood run cold. It was almost as bad as what I had felt from Grayfia, an endless well of malice that made me feel like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.

“Do me a favour,” her voice purred right next to my ear, sounding amused. “Don’t drag this out too much.”