Eating Your Weight: Points of Criticality

Points of Criticality

I lashed out with my sword but Kuroka wasn't there anymore. Her hand was gone, and I found myself facing only empty air. I staggered back a step, my heart racing, but it was already too late.

A fist slammed into my gut, driving the air from my lungs and forcefully folding me in half. Pain exploded through my core as Kuroka’s other fist came down and bashed me across the back, sending me flying through the air like a ragdoll.

I crashed to the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me as I struggled to breathe. Just that one hit had packed more of a punch than anything Agnir or Ylva had thrown at me. I gasped like a suffocating fish, trying to catch my breath.

I chanced a glance up just in time to watch a foot slam down onto my chest and completely reset any progress I had made. Kuroka stood above me, looking down with a lazy smile, as if she found my struggles amusing. “Was that it? I'll admit, I was hoping to play with you at least for a minute or two.”

I snarled through the pain, pouring magic into Abyss Eater, “Bite me you third partying piece of trash.” 

The ground around Kuroka erupted in a writhing mass of chains. They burst forth like rockets, snaking up to impale her, but the woman reacted instantly, jumping into the air and dodging them effortlessly.  Not a single one managed to touch or even graze her as she bent and twisting with catlike agility.

She touched down on the ground a small distance away, giving me an amused look as I scrambled to my feet. She opened her enough to speak, but the cat ears on her head suddenly twitched and she turned to her left just in time to watch as a torrent of glowing water washed over her, moving so fast that it could probably blow away a small house.

I looked over to find Sona panting, hands held up as she fed magic into her attack. The water swirled around Kuroka like a massive serpent, seeking to bind and trap her just like Ylva, but Sona's magic was waning from the previous fight. She didn't have much left in her.

Still, she pressed forward. Sweat rolled down her face as she shifted her attention and the temperature dropped once more. The roiling cage of water began to freeze, ice spreading across the torrent like frosted glass to trap the Stray Devil.

Power burst out of the icy prison before it was even halfway formed, sending chunks of frozen water in every direction. Kuroka stood, draped in a malignant purple aura, surrounded by a puddle of slurry as she brushed off her kimono. 

“How cute,” the woman said, running a hand through her raven locks. “You managed to get my hair wet. Well done.”

Sona fell to her knees as her magic came undone, clinging onto the remaining dregs of her energy as she panted for air. Considering what she said earlier, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get much more help from her.

Kuroka watched us, seeming unbothered by the girl's imminent collapse. She looked at her briefly before disregarding her entirely in favor of me.

“You know,” she called, “You could make this a lot easier on everyone and just give up. I'm bringing you back, one way or another, but if rather not lug around your broken body while I take a little trip into town.”

“I'd prefer not to have my soul sucked out of my body, thanks,” I said, tightening my grip on Kijin. Kuroka raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by my resistance.

“You say that as if you have the power to change that outcome.”

The woman's form suddenly wavered, and then disappeared like it was made of nothing but smoke and shadow. I whirled around, but she was already behind me. Her hands grabbed my wrists and pinned them to my back in an iron grip, and I found her grinning right at me. “You're nowhere near strong enough to make your own decisions.”

With a sickening twist, she pulled my arms behind me, sending a spike of pain through my shoulders and forcing me to cry out. I heard a pop and felt my joints scream as I was forced into a painful nelson, before she casually tossed me away.

I hit the ground hard again, my breath leaving me in a painful rush. I groaned, trying to get up, but before I could move, I was hit with another foot to the chest, and then another. My breath left me again and again and I was kicked like a football, sent rolling across the clearing like a ragdoll before being kicked back right back to where I had started.

I had just enough wherewithal to dismiss Kijin before I accidentally lost it or impaled myself, but apart from that, I was helpless as she rained blows down on me.

It was painfully apparent that the woman was playing with me. Despite her earlier words, she was taking her time, as if she wanted to make sure I knew just how out of my depth I was before she finished me off or took me off to who knows where. 

It pissed me off to be treated like this, like I was weak. Anger burned in my chest, hot and tight, and I grit my teeth before flashing out, grabbing onto her leg as she made to kick me again.

“Oh?” Kuroka blinked, her eyes widening as I clamped onto her ankle with both hands before slinging her away with all of my might. It was a difficult maneuver to pull off on the ground but my rage granted me strength and she was sent flying away just as I had been moments ago. 

I slammed a hand on the ground and shot to my feet, pushing off after her as my wings burst from the small of my back. I raised a hand, creating chains in her path to catch her and bind her limbs, while my other hand manifested my sword and brought it back, hoping I would at least draw blood.

​“That’s more like it,” she said, grinning as she corrected her flight in mid-air. “But I’d still say you’re outmatched.”

​My swing cut the air just behind her. I turned, raising the sword to block, but she was gone. She reappeared behind me, wrapping her arms around my neck and shoulders in a crushing embrace.

​The force of the impact drove the air from my chest again as Kuroka began to squeeze. Her grip was like a vice made of steel, and I felt the bones in my neck creak in protest. I felt the skin along my collarbone begin to split under the pressure. I clawed at her arms, digging my nails into her skin, but it was like trying to scratch a mountain.

​“Pathetic,” Kuroka said, her voice sounding detached. Or bored. “I hoped you’d be able to put up at least a little fight.”

​I twisted desperately, my vision beginning to blur as my windpipe closed off. With a final, desperate surge, I slammed the hilt of Kijin into her stomach. She grunted, her grip loosening for a split second, and I took it. I slipped out of her grasp and dropped to the ground, rolling away and sucking in a desperate, burning breath of air.

​My lungs stung as I forced oxygen into them, but I didn't have time to recover. I scrambled to my feet, raising my sword in a shaking hand as I panted harshly.

​“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Kuroka asked, a dangerous glint in her eye.

​I snorted, blood bubbling up in my throat, but I spat it onto the grass with a defiant glare. “I’ve been told I'm stubborn when someone's trying to kidnap me and rip my soul out of my body.”

​Suddenly, the treeline at the edge of the hill broke and several figures rushed through, putting our battle on pause as we both looked towards the new arrivals.

It seemed that Sona's call for help had been heeded, though only two members of her peerage had shown up: Tsubaki and Saji. Luckily, they weren't alone.

My eyes widened as Miyo and Marcille stomped onto the battlefield, the former wielding a blade of water and the latter, a gleaming steel sword. Aika was a step behind them, seeming somewhat unsure as she stepped onto the battlefield and looked around

To my eternal surprise, Mittelt was there as well, holding a pink light spear and sporting a supremely pissed off look which, considering she was wearing pajamas and her hair wasn't tied up for the first time since I could remember, was understandable. She had clearly been dragged out of bed.

If this were just a few minutes ago, I would have been happy for the backup. As it stood… I wasn't sure if it would make much of a difference.

​“Nya? More of you?” Kuroka’s yellow eyes scanned the new arrivals with keen interest. “Humans, Devils, Fallen, and a dragon... you really do have a menagerie here in this little town!”

“Tsubaki! Saji!” I barked, ignoring the searing pain in my ribs as I pointed toward Sona. “Get her out of here! She’s tapped out! Call her sister, call anybody, just get her to safety!”

Tsubaki didn’t stop to argue, rushing to her King’s side and helping the exhausted Devil to her feet. Saji looked ready to protest, but one look from Tsubaki had him shutting up and moving to support Sona’s other arm.

“You should go too,” I said, turning to Miyo and the others. “All of you. Thanks for coming out here but I don't want to drag you into this.”

Miyo shook her head, her expression stern as she stared past me at Kuroka. “We are not leaving you, Naomi.”

I huffed, "No, seriously, this chick is crazy strong. She's been beating my ass up and down this hill since we started fighting."

"All the more reason not to leave you on your own," Marcille counted smoothly.

Mittelt huffed, spinning a pink spear of light in her hand. “I was dragged out of bed for this. I'm not leaving until I work out some of my frustration.”

I looked at Aika, only to find her staring at me with a flat look. Right, if Mittelt of all people wasn't willing to leave, I doubted she would either. 

I shifted uncertainly. They would probably get hurt, but I wasn't exactly capable of making them leave. Besides, more bodies might actually make this fight a little more even.

Kuroka looked at the assembled group, her tails flicking lazily behind her. “This is hardly fair,” she drawled, pouting slightly. “Five against one? Where's the sportsmanship you humans are known for?”

“Dead in the same ditch that I'm gonna toss you in,” I said, gripping Kijin tight. Kuroka's lips twitched in response to my threat.

"You're welcome to try."

The fight resumed instantly. Miyo was the first to move, sweeping her hand in a wide arc. A curtain of water erupted from the air, crashing down where Kuroka stood, but the woman was already gone, a blur of motion flashing to the left.

Marcille anticipated her movement, running to intercept her, but Kuroka flowed under his slash like water. He followed up with another strike which she batted away with a hand, stepping past him and aiming a clawed hand at the back of his head as he continued forward.

Marcille wasn't in a position to dodge but luckily he didn't need to as a crackling light spear split the air, forcing her to abandon her attack on him and flip backward to avoid being run through. Mittelt soared through the air above the pair, another spear already forming in her hands as she glared at the woman.

“This is for interrupting my sleep!“  she shouted, hurling her weapon which streaked down like a laser beam. Kuroka didn't dodge this one. Instead, made a quick gesture in the air and sent a ball of pure white energy towards the spear.

They collided in midair and Mittelt lost outright. The Fallen Angel was forced to jerk her body to the side to avoid Kuroka's attack which went screaming past her into the night.

I moved in, taking advantage of Kuroka's distraction. I aimed for the back of her neck, hoping to catch her off guard, but she ducked under my swing with ease, her yellow eyes dancing with amusement. Her fist shot out, catching me in the side and launching me backward.

I recovered in midair, flapping my wings to arrest my momentum, and Marcille took my place, using his sword to keep the woman on the defensive. Kuroka danced around his attacks like she was playing with the wind, but he kept her still long enough for Aika to aim her own spell at Kuroka's back. It was a copy of the same one that she used to trap me before Mittelt attacked us, but it moved much, much faster.

Still, even though it was in her blind spot, Kuroka seemed to see it coming and managed to slip past all the bands but one which wrapped around her leg. She brought a hand down, glowing with a strange white energy, and ripped it apart, freeing herself just in time to duck underneath a swipe of my sword.

The following brawl was chaotic but for a moment, I actually thought we had a chance. Kuroka was fast and annoyingly slippery, but we had her surrounded. Every time she tried to slip past one of us, another was there to cut her off.

“Not bad,” Kuroka laughed, weaving between a light spear from Mittelt and a slash from Marcille. She looked more energized than tired, her grin stretching wide. “I'm actually starting to enjoy myself!”

She caught Marcille’s blade with the palm of her hand, the skin hardening like steel, and shoved him back. Before I could capitalize, her tail lashed out, cracking like a whip and causing me to abandon my assault and regroup with Marcille.

Kuroka eyed us, a lazy smile creasing her lips as we stared at one another. The woman didn't look tired in the slightest, breathing evenly despite the insane amount of gymnastics she'd been performing

“Still,” she said, stepping to the side as a ball of fire whizzed past her from her blind spot. To the side, Aika let off a string of colorful curses. “I’ve played with my food long enough.”

She moved so fast I barely saw it. One second she was standing there, and the next she was directly above Mittelt. The Fallen Angel was charging up another spear, her eyes glancing around for her missing opponent and completely unaware that the woman had reappeared just above her.

“Move!” I screamed, watching as Kuroka pointed a single finger towards the unaware Fallen's back. A condensed sphere of energy formed at the tip and Mittelt turned, eyes widening.

“The hell–!?”

BOOM

A ball of glowing magic slammed into Mittelt's stomach, exploding massively against her body. Her light spear detonated in a brilliant pink explosion that was instantly swallowed by Kuroka's own energy, and Mittelt was blasted out of the sky like a bird with clipped wings. 

She fell to the ground, skin smoking and clothes in tatters. She would have landed headfirst in the dirt, but luckily Aika was there to catch her, swiftly creating a bed of soft magic for the woman to land on.

“You Fallen should stay with the rest of your kind,” Kuroka huffed, dusting off her hands as she slowly turned her gaze toward Miyo. "Now then…”

Kuroka surged forward, crossing the battlefield in an instant as she raced towards my maid with one arm poised to deliver a lethal strike. She was moving extremely fast but my body moved before my brain could even process the thought, reaching out with Abyss Eater as I poured my will into the air.

Massive lengths of iron erupted from the earth, snatching Kuroka around the waist in mid-air. She broke through the majority of them with just her strength and speed alone, but a few of them clung on long enough for me to drag her off course.

The fist which had been aimed at Miyo’s skull, instead smashed into the ground, the shockwave rattling Miyo but thankfully sparing her life.

Miyo backed away and Kuroka growled, playful demeanor finally cracking as she twisted in the grip of the chains. With a surge of that energy, she shattered the bindings into dust and stood, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

“Well that was certainly annoying,” she muttered, her tails lashing aggressively behind her. “I think I’ll speed this up.”

A glowing aura flared to life along the woman's body, dying her skin and clothes a deep violet. A purple ring, not unlike a magic sigil, burst into being behind her, before her form began to waved 

Kuroka's image shook, distorting like a reflection in troubled water, and then burst apart into three identical copies of herself, standing side by side.

And from there, things went from ad, to complete shit.

The clones or illusions or whatever the fuck they were, surged forth in perfect synchronization. One broke left, heading straight for Marcille, while the other two came right for me. I didn't have time to warn him–hell, I barely had time to raise my guard before they were upon me.

Kuroka's fist slammed into the flat of my blade, the dark metal of the sword creaking under the force of the strike. I grit my teeth, my shoes sliding on the ground for an inch before I shoved her back with a roar, swinging wildly at the second one as it approached.

“Too slow,” she purred as she jumped up, leaping high above it. I followed her with my eyes, tracking her as she flipped and landed behind me, immediately lashing out at my legs with one of her own.

I stepped back but the other Kuroka stood in my way, forcing me to stumble to the side as her fist screamed past my face. I was unbalanced and she pressed the advantage, ducking underneath my messy retaliation and slamming her fist into my stomach. 

This time, something cracked, a sickening crunch in my ribs that I could feel almost as well as I could hear it, accompanied by an almost blinding amount of pain in my torso. I felt bile crawl up my throat, but sheer willpower kept me standing and let me return the favor by lashing out with a pommel strike to the face.

It whipped across Kuroka's cheek, causing her to cry out and stumble backwards. It was my first good hit on her this entire fight, but I wasn't able to savor it as the second clone swiftly reminded me of its presence by trying to blow me away with another one of those energy balls.

I shielded my face and body with Kijin but a glowing shield snapped into existence in front of me, made of interlocking panels of pure magic. Kuroka's attack shattered it but couldn't keep its form past the feat, exploding massively and sending dirt in every direction.

“Argh!” A scream came from behind the haze which slowly cleared to reveal Kuroka clutching her stomach, through which a spike of sparkling, crystalline ice had been firmly planted. 

Her skin sizzled around the point of entry and her eyes widened in shock, “Holy water? Oh, you tricky little–”

Another spice of ice slammed through the back of her head, cutting off whatever she was about to say. Her body shuddered, then began to melt, dissolving into a pile of mud that splattered onto the grass. 

The remaining clone snarled, turning her rage toward Miyo who was already charging up another spell and had no way to defend itself.

As it turned its back on me, I reached deep and summoned my fire, sending a stream of violet flames after the clone which consumed her instantly. Steam exploded outwards, and when it cleared, it was to reveal another pile of smoking mud.

Now that Miyo wasn't in imminent danger, I slumped forward, crashing to my hands and knees and breathing heavily. The pain in my chest was sickening, a sharp agony that made me want to vomit every time I took a breath.

“Naomi!”

Miyo was at my side in an instant, her hands hovering over my body unsurely, “Stay still, don't move too much or you could puncture something.”

“I–I’ll be fine,” I gently shoved her away, trying to keep the tremors out of my voice. I slowly got to my feet, ignoring the grinding feeling in my ribs as I looked around, “Aika! Marcille! are they–”

“Dead? Not quite.”

A body landed heavily in front of us in a heap of twisted limbs clutching a broken sword. I swallowed heavily as I stared.

Marcille's body was a collage of cuts and bruises, limbs twisted awkwardly as he succumbed to the throes of unconsciousness. A steady stream of blood trickled from a gash on his temple, matting his hair and staining the grass beneath his cheek.

He didn't move, didn't groan or even seem to breathe. He just laid there, a broken heap of limbs and torn clothing.

“So full of negativity for a human,” Kuroka’s voice drifted over, lazy and detached. “You would think he was a Devil with how much malice his heart holds inside of it.”

I stared at him, the world tilting dangerously on its axis, before my gaze slowly rose. The real Kuroka strolled toward us, her hands clasped behind her back as if she were taking a leisurely walk through a park. She stepped over Marcille’s body without a second glance, her yellow eyes fixed solely on me.

“Are we done playing now?” she asked. “I know someone who's very excited to meet you.”

Miyo stepped between us, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Marcille. He was so still. I looked past Miyo, scanning the rest of the hill. My breath hitched.

Aika was curled into a tight ball near the tree line, trembling softly. Craters surrounded her and one of the trees next to her was on fire, showing how she'd tried to fight back but simply hadn't been able to do anything substantial.

Mittelt was face down in the dirt a few yards away, in the exact same place she had fallen before.

“They should have listened to you,” Kuroka said as she saw where I was looking. “I would have been more than happy to let the weaklings go, but they just had to get involved. You hero types are so confusing sometimes.”

​Staring at my fallen comrades, my friends who had been put in the line of fire in an effort to protect me, something inside me shifted. 

The world went silent, the wind dying down until the only thing I could hear was the frantic, heavy thrumming of my own heart. My body felt hot, like the blood in my veins was starting to boil. ​I grit my teeth. Nidhogg.

​”For once, we are on the same page. This farce has continued for long enough,” the dragon’s voice resonated in my mind, already keyed in to my intentions. “I warn you, this will hurt, and the effects after may be even worse. Assuming you even survive what is to come.”

​As long as I'm alive long enough to stop her, I don't care, I thought, my teeth grinding together. Do it.

~~~

Kuroka sighed softly, idly scratching her ear as she slowly approached the girl and her handler. The fight had been interesting up until now, an idle amusement to keep her preoccupied considering she couldn't feel Shirone’s power anywhere nearby, but the battle had long since lost its luster.

She eyed the girl she had been sent to collect. The little dragon was staring at the crumpled body of the man who had been trying to defend her. Her eyes were blank, staring into space as if her mind was a million miles away.

Did I break her, Kuroka tilted her head. How unfortunate. The girl had been so confident in her power, only to be knocked from her pedestal with a mere flick of a more powerful being’s fingers.

She almost felt bad. Almost.

Oh well, it was time to finish this. Shirone was waiting, and Kuroka was excited to see her again. She approached the blonde woman in front of her, mentally commending her for not running away, even as she called upon her magic to blast her out of the way. Just before she sent it forward, however, she froze.

Kuroka paused, a feeling of… something… prickling the back of her neck. Her ears swiveled, twisting back and forth as she turned, sensing something. There, just beneath the faint pulse of life that she could feel from the woman… no.

Kuroka shivered as a wave of malicious intent surged into her senses, sending a cold chill racing down her spine. She jerked her eyes back to find the girl staring at her, orange eyes locked onto her and burning with a hatred that Kuroka didn't even need senjutsu to sense.

 So much so that Kuroka could feel it without trying, a power so thick, and so potent, that it took the woman back. The Nekoshou's eyes widened as an orange aura began to slowly rise from the girl's skin, wafting off of her body life she was a self-made pyre.

Kuroka realized with a start that the grass was dying around her, withering and turning yellow and then black as if the life was being sucked out of it. The sage could feel the nature energy in the area around them draining, straight into that girl!

“What the hell…” she murmured, eying Naomi much more warily as she sensed the power building inside of her.

“Naomi?” the woman beside her said, a note of worry in her voice. “What are you doing!?”

“Miyo,” the girl said, her voice more akin to a beast than a human. “I need you to do something.”

“What?”

“Get everyone away.”

The aura exploded around the young dragon, and Kuroka jerked backwards, shielding her face as the wave washed over her. The ground shook, and the wind howled, and a surge of energy burst forth in every direction.

When Kuroka was able to open her eyes, it was to a sight that made her jaw drop.

The girl as he had been fighting thus far had disappeared and in her place stood a demon clad in rugged armor as black as the void. A jagged crown of horns scraped the air above her head, adding even more height to what her transformation had seemingly granted her and two orange gems – one in her chest and a smaller one at her waist just above her lengthened skirt – seethed and pulsed like trapped stars.

Power rolled off of her in waves. Literal waves that washed against Kuroka again and again, leaving her feeling colder with each pass. She shivered, a chill settling deep into her bones that had nothing to do with the actual weather, backed by a tinge of worry drowned out by an almost overwhelming sense of intrigue.

This… this was interesting.

Metal ground against itself as the transformed girl slowly turned her head towards Kuroka, orange light bleeding from the narrow slits of her visor as she gazed upon the woman with pure, unadulterated rage.

[DEVOURING DRAGON OVERBOOSTER!] A voice screamed, accompanied by another surge of power that sank into the world around them. [VOID MANTLE, AWAKENED!]