Chapter 105

Shukona POV

"This shouldn't be possible?! What in the world-" I lowered Raijin's head, resting it on a bed of flowers while I stood up. Kikyou finished her spell and unleashed a tornado from the palm of her hands, hail and sharp rocks. Nikami and Shoubu jumped out of the way, Yasachu's arrows pierced through the shadow arms that protected the orge demon and landed in its skin. But it had no effect, bounced off like it was just like it was throwing a pebble towards a boulder.

The tornado surely had an effect on the enemy, being twice as large as the orge, the three people above had their clothing and skin sliced by the rocks. Emica holding on to dear life on the horns of the demon while embracing the unconscious shrine maiden. But soon after, she couldn't handle the cyclone of air knocking her all over the place and lost grip. She was kept in deep sleep, one of the blades of air softened and held its grip on Ajisa. She gasped, eyes widening through her mask and reached out to her, but her feet were already pulled by the wind, a rock sliced through her palm and she hissed.

"AUGH! Fine then! You'll choose violence, I will too!~" Yuutsu used her light magic into a whip and wrapped it around her arm, it stuck on the demon's horns. And she used her increased reach to hardly grasp on the shrine maiden's soles, pulling her back with greater strength than the wind and hurled her towards Emica.

"You stupid demon! Take action!" Yuutsu scolded the ogre, being stirred around by the wind. The ogre opened its mouth, smoke from its mouth merged with the tornado before Senpai's magic completely disappeared.

"It's an albino ogre. But a demonic one." That hard humdrum voice caught me off guard, almost jumped when she appeared next to me. "Oh mother of gaia-" I cursed, placed my palm on my chest and gazed at her, "Since when did you get here, Nika?"

"Shiromoru."

"Shiromoru, I apologize." I mumbled while my shoulders relaxed. It's strange, having a different girl in the body of my best friend. But, when my emotions go from flat to a peak in a matter of seconds, the effect of this curse to completely turn her into a different person wasn't so far-fetched.

Even so, it was odd.

"Villainess, that alien told me that you need to fetch your homeroom teacher." With a gentle lift of her arms, she flicked her finger up at the gloves that Yuutsu was wearing. "That's not an ordinary glove, it's sucking the mana away from the tiny queen and turning it's abilities into its own. I remember that being the paper that flew away back at the start of the school year, thus that woman should know how to deal with that." Clear and undaunted, she barely opened her lips yet the words flew right into my ears like it was an arrow of command.

"How do you know that?" That was months ago! I didn't even see what was written on that piece of paper when it flew away, I forgot about it until now.

"While that alien has sharper eyes than I do, I have a tremendous memory. I can count how many times you have breathed for the past minute. You decreased it when I came, holding it for about 3.7 seconds before you spoke again. Some strange writing back then wouldn't be a problem, don't make me repeat myself." Her voice was precise, unwavered. I scoffed before I folded my hands, an amused smile creeping into my face and nodded. She's special in her own sense, how foreign and intimate.

"Very well then, I'll trust you. I'll leave Rai up to you, and kindly tell the others why I'm going away."

I bowed to her, a tap on the ground would only be the only indication that I had already ran.

The trees parted in my wake, shoes lightly touched the grass before I lept again and dashed towards the direction of the school. The peace got sliced in half when thunder struck the tree beside me, and charred it, thankfully it didn't start searing.

I whipped my head towards the direction of the lightning while my body followed, vines sprouted off the ground to help me spin. I was greeted by a masked girl, however she had a maid outfit on and I filled my lungs with air before I groaned it out. In her hands were gloves that were similar to the ones on Yuutsu, I raised an eyebrow before lifting my nose.

"What are you doing, Emica?"

"Trying to stop you."

"And do you think you can?" I scoffed, rolled my eyes while I lifted my chin, barely opening my lips to show my clenched teeth. If the sound, tch, had an expression, it would be the one I was wearing right now.

"I could hold you long enough to damage you and retreat, at least." She raised both of her fists, dark brown swayed behind her. Sparks reflected on her mask, she's using light magic to turn it into lightning? Smart girl.

"We don't have to fight, Emi. Please, I know you don't want this." I frowned, lowered my guard and my vines back into the ground. I lifted my arms, gulped down my pride. Emi, I care about you. I know this situation is dire, and I am quite disappointed that you took her side. But I will not allow myself to hurt you because of such a thing. "Didn't you want to turn yourself in? Explain it to Nika, I'm not sure if she'll forgive you very easily, but I'm sure she'll give you a chance." The girl who had saved me from my own toxic coping mechanisms would save you too.

"I know but... She's far from saving, I don't want her to suffer alone. No matter what she has done to me, done to others, I'll always be by her side. Back then, I could come back and give up since she hasn't tried to attack you all too... You stopped me, and now I... I have to do this." Emica wiggled her fingers while sparks formed a javelin and she thrusted it towards me.

I closed my eyes, stomped on the ground and created a large cactus, the electricity of it scattered inside the water brimmed plant. I marched forward, hands folded while I didn't break eye contact. Sweat splashed from the inside of her mask, she bit down on her teeth, the grip on her fists tightened while swirls of light came from her arms and she blasted it towards me.

"I don't want to fight you, Emi." I was indifferent towards her actions, vines sprouted out and took me to the skies, dodging the attack. "That's fine! That gives me enough time for them to all faint while you're gone!"

"Why do you keep on wanting to save her?! Even if she is your sister, that still doesn't excuse what she did! Don't you understand that?!" I finally snapped, shaped the ground with the palm of my hands and heaved it to the maid, her punching the boulder and used the vibrations from her hands to slice it in half.

"I know! But she's the only one that I have, she's the only thing that can really save my mother! I don't care about becoming a traitor as long as it's for my mother! I came into the job to use everyone and abuse everyone's kindness! I never once regretted that decision!" She gathered energy from her feet and blasted herself up at me. With a flick of my fingers, a slab of the ground came up and blocked her punches. It shattered to pieces, her fists jabbed straight at me. I titled my body to the side, avoiding her knuckles yet some of the sparks came to my skin and I shivered.

"Yet, funnily, you took my hand and treated me like a friend." She mumbled while she passed my ear, gravity took a hold of her and dragged her down. I twisted my body and spun vines around my wrists and cloaked her feet with it, pulling her up to stand on my platform.

"Do you really want to do this?" I begged, grasped her hands with my palm and pulled her close since her feet were at the edge of my vines. My chest hit her chin, I loomed over her, my shadows plastered in her expression. Each of our noses caressed, and it made her angry expression turn redder. "I do."

"You don't look like you do." I tucked her hair behind her ears, flipped her mask to the ground and saw her melted hazel eyes filled with regret. "Stop I... I don't want to... Be nice to you... I want to...Save... My sister..." I wiped off the tears on her face with my sleeves, cupping her cheeks. "You can't. I'm sorry. It's better if you'd just not get into deeper trouble, I can try helping your mom."

She furrowed her eyebrows, shielded her emotions with a glare, pushed me off and fell to the ground on her back. "Emi!" "Shut up!"

"Don't get close to me!" Her gloves created more sparks then pointed it towards me. I didn't stop my eye contact with her hazel glazed eyes, one step, and another. Like a dance, the rhythm of my heart matched my speed. Each tiptoe creating a solid work of wooden stairs, the woman drenched in sweat gulped.

"Get a grip, Emi. Please, I don't want you to get into trouble."

"What the hell can I even do?! There's no chance I'll even come close to being forgiven by Nikami! I don't know what you see in her, but she's the strictest person I've met! She's kind my ass, you're just being hazed by your puppy love!"

That moment something snapped in me, a sizzling sensation came from my palms from the friction that happened between my hands and her cheeks. She stared at me with an erratic gaze, holding her breath.

"You do not have the right to tell me, or yourself, how she will react. I'm not hazed by my puppy love, Emica Hayami, I got over her. I see her as a friend, do you understand me?" I hissed, lowered my hand and narrowed my eyes at her.

"Di-did you just... Slap me...?"

"You look like you didn't understand what I have been saying this entire time, you need to know that I am being serious, Emica. I do not hurt people, especially my best friends, you know that better than anyone. You know that I like medicine because I want to help people, and as much as I yell I will never touch even a SINGLE strand of anyone. But you have gone too far. You call me hazed? I call you blind. Stop being so stubborn and understand, you can't save your sister. Please, save yourself."

She panted, chest raising and lowering rapidly. Emica jumped back, knees unsteady, lamentation following her shudders. Yet she lifted her arms up, creating another bolt, sparks coming out of her tears as she blasted it towards me.

I took a deep inhale, closing my eyes before the sharp sizzling anguish spread all over my body, my vision blurred immediately.

"Shu-shukona?! What the hell are you doing!?" I want you to understand that this is all meaningless, that I know you aren't like this. You don't have to do this.

I stumbled forward, my body leaning to the side while I almost tripped. I kept on forward, not breaking eye contact with her.

"Emi... Plea... Understand..." My face tingled badly, as if there were bees stuck on my face and stung me a million times over. My legs were nothing, they didn't exist anymore.

But I kept forward, the world turned white for a moment before I snapped back to reality. I stood in front of her, my eyes fluttered while she stared at me in horror. I bit down on my lip causing it to tear and ooze blood. It dripped on her face, along with all of my sorrows. My body leaned forward, forehead touched each other.

"Shukona, why are you... Like this...?"

"I... I don... You to be... Like her execut..." I was trying to make a push up with just my tongue, barely muttering.

"I don't get why you're like this! You're such an asshole! I don't even understand what you're saying!" She shrieked, bawling out on my chest while she embraced me tightly. She allowed me to lean my limp body on to her before my sight turned to white.

"Ple...ase..."