Yuma pranced through the barrier. However, at this point, lumbered would be a better word to describe her movement. The formerly petite child was now a really big child, and not in the sense of age or stature.
Despite having stubby feet, the green-haired girl moved forward effortlessly. As she moved towards a location, magical energy trailed in her wake. With a new attire featuring a predominantly green color, she hurried towards the sound of battle. She used one hand to hold her new catgirl-themed headgear.
"No turning back now, wait for me, big sis!"
Yuma gripped the weapon that came with her Cibus transformation. The staff shook in her grip. The weapon, decorated with a ball with a cat's tail, glowed with energy, one that is just expected from the release of energy from the birth of a new Cibus.
"There you are, Yuma Chitose. Perhaps you are the one Oriko talked about. The girl of prophecy, the one who would bring forth more power than I could ever imagine."
Kyubey propped himself up from his reclining position. Sounds of battle rang in the background, only to be cut off by a powerful explosion.
Seeing the running girl showing no sign of stopping, Kyubey dropped down from the post and softly landed in front of the Cibus.
Seeing the cat-like figure drop down and stare at her with bulging eyes, Yuma came to a screeching halt.
"You. Could you be…?"
Kyubey's ears twitched at the girl's voice that trailed off. Despite carrying his ever-unreadable expression, he slowly walked towards her.
"Yes, it is I, Kyubey. Now, Yuma Chitose, is there any way I can be of service?"
"Tell me something. Please. Where is sis? Is she out there fighting?"
Kyubey tilted his head before curling down on the ground in front of Yuma. "Kyoko Sakura is indeed fighting as we speak."
Hearing that, Yuma crashed onto his soft body and lifted him up. The next thing that his eyes met were the two pleading eyes of the child.
"Can you take me to her?"
He shook his head and answered. "For what reason?"
"I got to get there and bring her back!"
After her pleas, he simply slid out of her grip and dropped with his back turned. "There is no point. It is useless. It has been predicted by fate that in a little more time, the Cibus known as Kyoko Sakura would cease to exist."
He began to walk away. He did not even turn back in order to look at the girl. He did not bother looking at the result of his words.
For Kyubey, the green-haired girl who dropped down on her knees simply showed behavioral irregularity that he had grown accustomed to with humans.
Those words indeed stunned Yuma. "I-impossible…"
Her voice trailed off before she grabbed the white cat's tail with a powerful grip. "Tell me that isn't true! What are you saying?"
Kyubey was stopped by the strong grip. With this, he glanced back at Yuma.
"What I am saying is that Kyoko Sakura is about to reach her expiration date. Ever since she became a Cibus, she had sealed her fate. She lived for battle with Esuriens, and she will die in battle against one. Her end has been decided, just as all the other people in the past."
"Don't say that!" shouted Yuma. "Please, don't say that!"
"What good is it to deny the inevitable? I really don't know the deal is with you humans."
"Is there anything I can do to save big sis? Don't tell me that there's no way!"
Silence followed, before more explosions from the distant battle filled the air with sound once more.
"Well, if you really insist. There is one way."
her eyes brightened with those words from Kyubey. "Really?!"
"Yes. In fact, I have the power to help you with that."
He freed himself from the girl's grip and gave her a stare. "I can make one wish come true. Anything, as long as you agree to the contract."
"Contract? Just let me save sis!"
"Interesting…"
With the sudden surge of a second wind, Kyoko skillfully spun her spear and sliced off one of the Esuriens' sickle arms.
The sudden swing of tempo in the fight favored Kyoko. After getting struck by a series of lethal blows, something happened, as if it was a miracle. That miracle revived Kyoko and allowed her to turn the battle around.
The Esuriens staggered back as it now struggled to defend against the continuous attacks. Kyoko thrust her spear forward with such speed that the multiple thrusts became a blur.
The Esuriens' large frame was battered by the constant attacks. One arm definitely wasn't enough to defend against everything, and before long, it found itself riddled full of holes.
"Die!"
With one last shout, Kyoko focused a large amount of her magical energy into one powerful thrust, hoping to finish it once and for all.
The powerful thrust followed, throwing the Esuriens several meters away.
"I have no idea what happened, but I'll take it!" said Kyoko with a smirk. She's definitely thankful for the miracle that turned the battle around, but understanding the reason behind that is not a concern right now. Some kind of divine intervention allowed her to snatch victory from the jaws of death, and that's all that matters.
"You made me break a sweat. I guess this means that I need to get stronger. I can't go on killing you guys if I die too soon."
Kyoko unsummoned her spear and prepared to walk away. For some reason, the barrier has not dissipated, and a faint reminder of the chilling aura of an Esuriens remained. With raised eyebrows, she stared back at where her attack tossed the enemy away.
"Still alive, huh?"
Facing her enemy once more, she looked more excited than surprised. Never mind that she lost the battle of attrition and nearly died the first time. She faced her slowly-regenerating enemy with renewed vigor.
"Come on, we can do this all day!"
The Esuriens roared. Putting its one remaining arm up, it began charging. Kyoko braced herself for impact. Holding her resummoned spear, she aimed it straight at the head of the monster.
The anticipated clash did not take place.
As soon as the monster took his first few steps towards her, a beam of light shot out of nowhere and struck a hole through it. Furthermore, several beams followed, and the Esuriens took the full brunt of the attack.
Strangely enough, it never recovered. Despite a tenacity towards her physical attacks, the monster seemed to be unable to regenerate against attacks made of pure magical energy.
The way it is, it would seem that even a second life might not be able to help her overcome this challenge. It had to be through an outside intervention, one that seemed so convenient, as if it was an ordeal by fate.
The monster, now nothing more than a lifeless husk full of holes, collapsed. This time, it was decisive. The Esuriens started showing signs of dissipating.
With that, the barrier began showing signs of breaking. Like an eggshell, the small crack began expanding, before the entire magical field collapsed from top to bottom.
With the barrier finally broken, rain furiously poured back in. Despite going on for hours, the torrential rains have not shown a sign of letting up in the depths of midnight.
"Whoever's there, show yourself!"
When she saw the source of the magical energy that finished the battle for her, Kyoko's voice trailed off.
"W-what the hell…"
Her jaws dropped open. Concurrently, the noise of the pouring rain was joined by the loud clang of the dropping spear.
"I take it that this is all according to your plan, isn't it?" said Kyubey, finding himself back at Oriko's place.
"Repeating the same questions? You play around with an air of innocence. Yet, you seem to know even more than you're willing to tell me, Kyubey. Isn't that right?" responded Oriko.
"Certainly, that is a possibility," answered Kyubey. "Perhaps I do know more about this world than you do. However, there could be a being that exists with a higher level of power and knowledge than we both do."
Oriko sipped on her teacup. "A curious case. All I see is an unnecessary thirst of knowledge coming from such a peculiar creature. As such, I do not have the obligation to open up to you."
"Hmm, is that so? Even if you spent so much time talking in riddles and helping me convert girls into Cibi?"
"Didn't you call humans complicated enough times already? I think that it would benefit the both of us to nurture that curiosity of yours."
Having been left hanging, Kyubey just stared at Oriko.
"I would suggest you leave for now, Kyubey. I have to move on to the second phase of my plan."
Those orders were immediately followed by the white cat, who dropped down his resting pedestal and began walking away.
When Oriko confirmed that she was finally alone, she opened her phone and scrolled through the contacts list. Her large fingers stopped when she found the name she was looking for.
Kirika Kure