Summary: In which Amanda gives a pep talk while Diana and the others deal with Akko's attacker.

Author's Notes:

Warnings for depictions of (mild) action and violence.

Act VI. iv. Fear Sinks its Fangs into Weak Hearts - Toxic_Envy

Ten minutes pass as Barbara and Amanda run around Luna Nova looking for Hannah. They've already checked the blue team's room, the library, and the kitchen with no success. That leaves one last place that Barbara knows Hannah has hidden at before.

"So… Hannah does this a lot?" Amanda suddenly asks after relative silence.

"You mean hiding when she feels bad about something? More than you think." Barbara shakes her head. "She's the type who's direct but also gets upset easily when she realizes that she did something wrong. And instead of apologizing, she'll go mope by herself because she's too stubborn to admit that she was even wrong."

Amanda snorts. "That definitely sounds like her. So where's she hiding this time?"

"All that's left is the armory. If she's not there, we're going to be spending the entire night looking for her because I'll be out of ideas."

Amanda raises an eyebrow. "Why there?"

"She likes old things. I guess weapons, suits of armor, and old witches' cloaks and equipment fall in that category. Her family's pretty big into archaeology. She told me she's been collecting antique stuff since she was a kid. She would've bought something from Luna Nova if some of the professors didn't scare her so much."

"Huh. Never knew she was like that."

"Yeah well… Hannah's not the type who likes to talk about herself."

"You're both kinda like that."

"… There's nothing special to talk about."

The two stop in front of the door leading to the armory. Amanda moves forward first and places her hand on the door. Before she pushes it open, she turns to Barbara with a serious expression devoid of her usual mischief.

"Just because nothing big's happened in your life doesn't mean there's nothing special about it," Amanda says. "Anyway, I don't feel like saying this twice, so we're going to find Hannah so I can give you both a piece of my mind."

Barbara crosses her arms over her chest as Amanda opens the door. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not saying anything else until we find your other half. If she's not here, I'm setting the school on fire."

"Seriously? Do I even want to ask how you're going to do that?" Barbara glares at Amanda. "Don't tell me you set up explosive devices around the school."

Amanda waves her hand. "Nah, I'm not that crazy. Constanze's the one who's got the entire school on her radar."

"By the Nines, how are you guys not expelled yet?!"

"It's not like we can raise the school or anything. The most Cons can do is blow a roof or two off."

"That doesn't make it any better!"

A sigh comes from behind one of the mannequins. "Seriously, can't you two talk about something normal? Flippantly saying you can blow up the school makes me want to come out of hiding just to smack you two up the head."

Amanda strides up to the mannequin and leans around it to stare down at the person hiding behind it. "Hey, at least we're not the ones sulking behind a replica of…" She leans back to read the plaque on the ground, "… the sash of Saint Martha."

A sniff. "It's not a replica. The sash is the real thing. I checked."

"Yeah, it definitely feels dusty enough to be that old." Amanda cocks an eyebrow. "You gonna stay sitting there? Even with your coat it's gonna get pretty cold tonight."

"What do you care? You've never liked me."

"Since when did I say that?"

"At least twenty times a day."

"She has a point," Barbara chimes in.

Amanda rolls her eyes. "Can't you two take a joke? I say that to Diana too and she doesn't take it to heart."

"That's because Diana knows you're an idiot," Hannah grumbles.

"Ya know, if you really wanna mope I would let you. But all it does is make you even more pathetic."

"Huh?!" Hannah suddenly leaps to her feet, getting up in Amanda's face and forcing the latter to retreat back. "Are you calling me pathetic?! You, of all people?!"

Amanda glares back at her. "Yeah, that's what I said. And you know it." She turns to Barbara. "You both know it."

"You better watch your mouth, O'Neil," Hannah growls.

Barbara levels her own glare. "We came here to cheer up Hannah. Why the heck are you spitting out insults? If I knew you were going to be an insensitive prick, I would have kicked you off our balcony and found Hannah myself."

Amanda doesn't back down from either of them. "I didn't plan on getting all feely with you two, but it looks like someone's going to have to. Woulda thought Diana already gave you two this talk. Guess not."

"The heck you talking about?" Hannah demands.

Amanda sighs. "For all your high and mighty talk, you're both pretty soft, aren't ya?"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?!" Hannah and Barbara yell.

"You make fun of Akko for being stupid and always messing things up, but really you're just afraid of people noticing that you guys will make those mistakes too. It must be pretty hard to be the Diana Cavendish's friends, isn't it?"

The two girls of the blue team falter.

"It's- It's not. It's not hard because we're the only ones who can be with Diana!" Hannah insists.

But Barbara looks down and away from Amanda. She knows Hannah's just bluffing. It's just Hannah has never been the one to admit the truth. They both know that Amanda isn't wrong. But every time they think about this, Barbara is always the one who won't deny it. Not because she's shy, but because she can't lie to herself. Not like Hannah can.

"Oh yeah? So you're saying you're not having second thoughts now that Akko and I are getting buddy buddy with Diana? Not just us, but the rest of our group too?"

Hannah clicks her tongue. "So- So what? That doesn't matter. Besides, it's good for Diana to have more friends. There's nothing wrong with that. And it's you guys. Someone's gotta keep you hooligans in check."

"You really think you're the two for the job?"

With that, Amanda successfully hits the nail on the head.

"So this is what you meant," Barbara says. "Seriously? You're going to be the one to ask that? You can't even get your grades up. Don't think you're all that just because you've got talent on the broom, Amanda."

"Yeah, I've got talent. I know it, you know it, the stuffy hags know it, the whole school knows it. I'm not gonna deny that." Amanda faces the two with a resolute stare. "I also know my grades aren't the best. You know, Diana says that I can probably do pretty well if I just put in the effort. She's wrong though. If I tried twice or three times as hard as she or Akko does, I still won't be able to get more than slightly above average."

Hannah frowns. "You're admitting you're stupid?"

"Damn right I am. I'm not the brightest witch in this school. Not as hopeless as Akko, but definitely not something to write home about. At least not in the good way. And you know what? Whatever. I'm not gonna try in something I don't care about." She strikes her fest against her chest. "My pride is in my broom. Flying's my passion, the sky's my freedom. I ain't gonna let some random grades assigned by hags that don't know me dictate my worth. I set my own value. But what about you two? What sets your value?"

Hannah scoffs. "None of your business."

Barbara crosses her arms over her chest. "What makes you think we don't set our own values?"

"If you actually cared about yourselves, you wouldn't always be kissing ass to Diana. 'Oh, Diana you're so great!' Or 'Diana can do anything!' Or 'As expected of Diana!' My personal favorite's 'Everything's gonna be alright now that Diana's here! She can fix everything!' What? You polish her shoes too or something? Wouldn't put it past you two."

Hannah balls her hands into fists, arms shaking by her side. Even Barbara barely keeps herself from walking over and socking Amanda across the face.

"You're really pushing it, O'Neil," Hannah snarls.

"Good. Cus I'm not done. Well, I'd insult you two more but it's getting kinda boring." Amanda's expression softens. "You know, it's easy to think Diana's perfect when she's always put on a pedestal. Hell, I wouldn't have given it a second thought until just recently. I get it; Diana's amazing. It's kinda hard not to think she's perfect. But she's not. There's stuff she can't do too. She messes up just like the rest of us. It doesn't happen as much, and when it does she always fixes it before the rest of us even notice. But there really is stuff that she can't do."

"Well obviously. We don't need you telling us that."

"If you get it, you wouldn't be comparing yourself to her."

Hannah frowns. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You guys do that a lot. And not just to Diana, but everyone else. Heck, I bet you make fun of Akko so much cus she's helping Diana more than you guys ever did."

"We're not even being mean to her anymore," Barbara argues.

"Nah, y'all were bitches to Akko and the rest of us just cus of your inferiority complex. Now you're nicer cus you know we're better and you can't say anything about it."

"Inferiority complex?! We do not have an inferiority complex!" Hannah shouts.

"You guys can deny it all you want. Point is, you have it. Just like how you put Diana on a pedestal, you keep trying to build up your own while feeling bad that it's not as tall as everyone else's. And I'm telling you that you shouldn't give a shit. Learn to get that stick out of your asses."

"Oh, and suddenly you think you know everything?" Hannah stalks up to Amanda and pokes her in the chest. "You think I'm jealous of you?! Just because you're the only one who can match Diana in a broom. Just because you've got guts. Just because you could stand with Diana and Akko and help bring back magic-"

Barbara's eyes widen as Hannah's voice hitches in her throat. There it is. The insecurities that they had both voiced to each other and no one else. All of a sudden it all came tumbling out to the last person they'd ever want to tell.

Amanda sighs. "Geez, see? You really do have the worst inferiority complexes. From what Barbara said, I was thinking it'd take more than that to get you to spit it out."

"You were… egging us on?" Barbara asks.

"Yeah. Figured you'd break first," Amanda points down at Hannah, whose shoulders are shaking with barely repressed rage. "but I guess I got her to confess first. Guess I pushed your buttons enough."

"You…!"

"Look, we did all those things because it just happened that way. Did any of us know that we'd end up chasing a missile that went batshit insane because Croix's inventions went out of control? Nah. Hell, I didn't even think we'd fall in the Arcturus Forest. Crazy shit happens around Akko but I didn't think it'd be that bad."

"Her luck is pretty unfortunate," Hannah mutters.

Barbara can't help but giggle at that. It earns a confused stare from Hannah.

Amanda smirks. "When Croix and Ursula said that the missile was launched and would hit and wipe out an entire country, it was Akko that kept saying we could stop it. 'New Nine Witches' my ass. She just pulled that crap out of nowhere. But she was so sure that we could do it that it was hard not to believe it. And in the end, it was Akko and Diana that shot down the missile with the energy we all gave them. So everyone helped out in the end."

"Still…"

"Just cus you weren't standing on the front lines doesn't mean you didn't do anything. How about instead of thinking about what you didn't do compared to other people, you start thinking about what you've got going for yourself? You know…" Amanda suddenly turns her head, smirk gone and one hand up to rub the back of her head, "you two are pretty cool yourselves. Diana's told us some pretty cool stories about you two."

Hannah and Barbara blink, staring at Amanda incredulously.

"About us?"

"Like…?"

"Like that time during the festival preparations and the props broke. Before it could hurt anyone, you guys casted a spell around a girl who would've gotten crushed. Yeah Diana was the one who stopped the beam from falling, but you two made that barrier to protect that girl."

Hannah leans forward. Barbara also takes a step closer. There's definitely red tinting Amanda's cheeks. They're not letting Amanda go that easily.

"Go on."

Amanda keeps rubbing the back of her neck with her gaze turned away. "And there was that time in potions when someone mixed the wrong thing that would've knocked everyone out if they inhaled too much of the gas. Diana said she was the one giving the instructions, but you two were the ones who yelled at everyone to get out of the room while Diana stayed behind to get rid of the potion with Lukić."

"Uh huh. Anything else?"

Amanda's nose flares. "And… and… uhhh…Ahh I'm not saying any more! Geez! That was already disgusting! I ain't stroking your egos any more!"

"Oh, is that all? That's not a lot of things to think about," Hannah drawls.

"I'm saying you guys are dependable, damn it!" Amanda shouts. "That's enough to power your egos for a decade!"

Amanda's face pales when she realizes what she just admitted. Hannah and Barbara can only gape in silence. Then they turn to each other, grins pulling their lips up.

"You know, I never would've thought I'd hear Amanda say we're dependable," Barbara says.

"Yeah. We really must've been moping pretty bad if Amanda has to give us a pep talk," Hannah replies.

Amanda scoffs. "And I'm never doing it again. I'm gonna make Diana owe me a favor for taking care of her friends."

"So you're saying we're not your friends?" Hannah asks.

"Eh? I didn't say that! Isn't it obvious that-" Amanda stares incredulously at the two who are now hunched over laughing. "For fuck's sake I'm done. Never doing this again. You know I felt bad that you two always looked like kicked puppies whenever you thought no one was looking. I tried being a good person but if you're just gonna- You guys are just gonna keep laughing at me, aren't you?"

"No, no we're good," Barbara wheezes. "It's just… of all people. Man, Hannah we really let ourselves get dragged down."

"Yeah. If even someone who can't even go one week without getting detention is trying to make us feel better, we really must have hit our lowest. How embarrassing."

"Hey, it's not my fault that there's so many stupid rules in this school," Amanda grumbles.

Hannah's grin softens. "Still though. Thanks, Amanda."

Barbara gives her own smile. "Yeah. You're not so bad, you know?"

Amanda rolls her eyes. "You better remember that the next time you call me stupid."

"You're the one who admitted that your grades are always going to be bad."

"I was making a point. That was not the point."

"Really? Because it sure sounded like-"

The ground suddenly shakes, nearly tripping the three onto the ground. They manage to catch themselves and regain their balance.

"What was that?!" Hannah and Barbara cry together.

"Earthquake? That's-" Amanda's eyes widen. "Oh god. Knowing Akko's luck, something's probably attacking the school."

Hannah and Barbara turn to each other. "Knowing Diana's track record, something's probably attacking her."

The three rush out of the armory and toward the source of the tremble. They race down the hallway and down the stairs toward the front of the school. They pass by barely calm faculty who are trying to direct Luna Nova's screaming students aware from the source of danger. The three of them ignore the teachers' instructions and run toward the chaos.

"You know, I really can't tell who has the worse luck. Those two are always getting themselves into these shitty situations!" Amanda shouts.

"It's all that Akko's fault! Diana's life wasn't this bad before she started falling in love with Akko!" Barbara replies.

The three exit the building. But the sight that greets them freezes them in place.

"You sure about that?" Amanda gulps. "Because I swear even Akko's luck isn't this bad…"

Diana can only watch in horror as her world is torn apart with that single strike.

"AKKO!"

The others are already moving as she rushes forward. Diana points her wand at the ground and casts multiple mounds of dirt to erupt and ensnare the other her in place. The assailant wearing her face doesn't move, but Diana worries more about the amount of blood pouring from Akko's fatal wound.

Jasminka charges past Diana, rushing to act as a shield in front of Akko in case Diana's restraints don't hold. Constanze notches her wand into her gun and cocks it. Even Sucy's grin is gone, replaced with apprehension and tension as she pulls out her own wand and a few vials from her cloak.

Diana and Lotte drop down to their knees on each side of Akko's still form. Lotte presses two fingers to Akko's neck while Diana pulls out her wand and casts Emantur Ligna to heal the wound. Although most of the blood clots, but the torn parts of her upper body remain in critical condition. Red continues to stain everything around them at a steady pace.

Lotte releases a shaky sigh. "There's still a pulse. But it's so weak, and she's so pale. Will Akko-?"

"This is the most I can do with this spell," Diana hisses impatiently, cutting Lotte off. "We need to take her to a proper healer or she will die from blood loss."

"Or her body shuts down completely from that wound," Sucy comments. "Go, Diana. You and Lotte. We'll take care of this for you."

"Ara, but is that really wise?" comes Diana's voice. Not from the Diana fretting over Akko, but the one captured and held in place. "If you take me out of your sight, there's no telling when and how I'll attack you again."

Diana's grip tightens against her wand. If her hands were still blades it would have cleaved her wand in half. Instead, her pseudo-human flesh only chafes against the rough wood.

"You dare…" Diana barely holds back the growl from her voice. "You dare attack Akko using my own face?!"

The other Diana smirks at her true self. "Is it unsettling to see yourself as a murderer? But that isn't entirely new, now is it? After all, you've already taken a life. It's only a matter of time before you're the reason for the death of your loved ones as well."

Diana flinches against her will.

Amusement twinkles in the other Diana's eyes. "Oh, I suppose that's already happened before, yes? How was it that your parents died? One by an incurable disease, the other cursed after taking up a fruitless quest for an unattainable elixir. Why didn't you stop them, little Diana? Why do you always let your loved ones die?"

"For a shapeshifter, you talk a lot." Sucy cuts through. Her usual deadpan tone is laced with animosity, rivaling Diana's own rage. "An aswang? Or a kapre? There's the tikbalang and engkanto too, or creatures from other cultures. Or maybe you're just a spellcaster using something to change your appearance."

The trapped Diana sneers. "But that doesn't matter, does it? You're a smart one, Sucy."

"Hearing that from Diana's voice makes me want to vomit. In other words, if we lose you you're going to change into anyone we're familiar with and catch us off guard at any time."

That Diana clicks her tongue to make three ding ding dings. "Precisely."

Keeping her gaze on the one masquerading as her, Diana casts a levitation spell on Akko to gently lift her from the ground. Any kind of carry through physical touch is out of the question- not if she wants to jostle Akko's wound and cause more damage.

Meanwhile, Sucy says, "Yeah, you're definitely not Diana. If you were half as smart as her, you'd know it's pretty easy for even us three to keep you here. What can you do in that state?"

The captured Diana shrugs. "You're right. I guess I just have to change it."

The restrained figure snaps its head back and releases a long, guttural wail. One shoulder twitches upward, followed by the other. As it continues to scream, its body begins to bulge outward in multiple blotchy bulbs. The swelling breaks the earthen restraints around it. Its skin changes from slightly tanned to a putrid dark green. The form keeps growing until it's size surpasses the roofs of Luna Nova.

"It's so big!" Jasminka gasps.

"Impossible to combat," Stanbot beeps. "Grand Charion is not ready for combat. Consider other methods to subdue the enemy!"

Lotte covers her gasp with her hands. "What… what is it?"

Eight legs sprout from the sides, four on each side. The bulges take form into what appears to be countless human faces. Hollow eyes, disfigured noses, and open mouths as they moan and scream in agony. A long, thick tail also sprouts from the back of the creature. A giant head - a cross between a canine and a human's - forms the front.

"Probably a chimera," Sucy answers. "But even that's a stretch."

The beast takes a step with one foot, sending a trembling shockwave through the ground that nearly throws them all off balance. It opens its mouth to reveal a giant jaw of perfect human teeth and a pink tongue also covered in bulbs of crying human heads. But instead of saliva, dark red blood drips down its tongue and burns the grass to ass upon contact.

Black and white sclera and multiple purple pupils stare down at them. The sound that rumbles from the monster isn't a single voice, but a conglomeration of many different vocal chords at once. "If you lot were smart at all, you'd realize that shapeshifting isn't limited to human forms." The monster roars. "I an Invidia, the Demon of Envy. You humans… you all sicken me!"

The giant shoots forward, jaws open to swallow all five of them whole. Even disregarding being eaten alive, a single touch from its bloody saliva will liquefy them all and not even leave the bones behind. Not even Sucy would want that kind of fate.

There's no space or time to retreat. The four of them bring up their wands to defend as much as they can. Even a minute is longer than an instant.

Invidia's head towers over them. But before the darkness can envelop their forms, its head is suddenly snapped to the side by a powerful strike to its jaw. It's powerful enough to push that giant skidding away from them.

Their savior lands in front of them, red hair free from its tie and flowing in the wind.

"Professor Ursula!"

"What is going on?! I was worried when Akko hadn't shown up for her lessons-" Ursula shakes her head. "Never mind. There really is no time." Her face pales when her eyes fall on Akko. "What-?!"

"Professor, the beast is regaining its footing!" Diana calls out.

Invidia shakes its head, eyeing Ursula warily. "Hm, I haven't felt that much force from a human in centuries. Ursula Callistis. I'm causing a lot more ruckus than I'm supposed to if even you came in time. Oh well. She can deal with the repercussions later. I won't stop until all of you humans are dead." The giant snarls. "Especially that Atsuko Kagari."

Their thoughts are unanimous. As they all ready to defend against the behemoth, Ursula, Sucy, Lotte, Jasminka, and even Constanze yell the same words to Diana.

"Go! Take Akko and GO!"

Diana scrambles to her feet and guides Akko's body through the air with her wand. The ground trembles with quakes from Invidia's steps. But even if she falters, Diana has no time to worry about her own life or leaving the others. She's been left with the responsibility to make sure Akko survives, one she refuses to fail.

"You're not getting awaaaaaaayyyyy!"

Invidia lifts itself up onto its hind legs and crashes back down on its front four legs, sending a trembling shockwave through the ground. The force overturns the academy grounds, erupting mounds of jagged dirt and stone.

Their balance lost and being thrown into the air, the girls are helpless against the force pulling them all in different directions. Ursula and Jasminka fall farthest from Diana while she catches Lotte, Sucy, and Constanze land somewhere a little away from her.

As she sails through the air, Diana lurches forward and grabs onto Akko. She curves around Akko as much as she can and angles herself to land against a mound, taking the brunt of the fall with her own body.

The landing knocks the wind from her lungs. Black dots line her vision. But for the most part, Diana's irregular body holds up against a fall that should have collapsed her lungs and broken a few bones.

The only thing her homunculus body can't stop is the familiar jolt of her impaired soul crying out against her will. For a moment Diana loses consciousness until a vibration against her chest brings her back.

The next time she blinks, a giant mound of dirt is flying in her direction. Diana quickly brings up her wand and blasts it to smithereens before it crushes them.

Diana lowers her wand, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth. As much as it pains her to, she glances down at Akko to check on her wound.

(That's good. The wound hasn't reopened. Still, she will not last if she doesn't receive attention soon. I need to-)

Invidia roars. "Atsuko Kagariiiiiiiii!"

Diana rises to her feet while fixing her hold on Akko. She spots Lotte and Sucy emerging from some of the rubble nearby and make her way toward their direction.

(I am not its true target? But… why is it aiming for Akko?)

Sucy's uncharacteristically concerned voice pulls Diana from her thoughts. "That doesn't look good, Lotte." She kneels down beside the Finnish witch who's sitting on the ground with her back against a mound of dirt.

Lotte tries to move her leg to stand, only to cry out in pain. "It might be fractured."

"And just when your arm healed."

"Sucy, you're hurt too." Lotte reaches up to wipe some of the blood peeking out from Sucy's hairline.

"Who wouldn't be injured after that?!" Stanbot beeps from Constanze's head. Compared to the other two Constanze seems less disheveled; Diana surmises that is thanks to Stanbot somehow considering the some parts of the small robot are dented and scratched. The worst appears to be a gash across Constanze's right cheek.

Sucy glances at Diana as she reaches them. She's covered in blood, dirt, and bruises, but the blood is mostly from Akko and not her.

"Diana, apparently," Sucy says. "That body of yours is pretty convenient."

Diana chooses to ignore that comment. She works on providing a quick healing spell to Lotte as she asks, "Sucy, do you have any potions effective against a monster of that size? Belga Veeda may suffice, but I doubt we will have an opening to attack with such a spell."

Sucy reaches into her cloak and pulls out a vial of black liquid. "This is probably what you want. Even a drop of this will liquefy diamonds. The only problem is it needs to be ingested. And that's not happening with its mouth like that."

The earth trembles. Invidia snaps its head side to side, throwing clumps of bloody saliva in every direction. Whatever it hits, the fluid instantly liquifies it upon contact.

Its beady pupils find their tiny forms within the rubble. Its lips pull up into a toothy smile. "Did you think you could hide from me? You will all die along with that insufferable-!"

Two simultaneous strikes from above and below shut the beast up forcibly. Ursula shoots up from the dust and slams her fist into the bottom of the beast's maw. From above, Jasminka crashes down onto the top of Invidia's snout.

Ursula grits her teeth, putting all of her anger into her fist. "You-!"

"Talk too much!" Jasminka shouts.

Between the two of them, their strikes are strong enough to blast through solid concrete. Yet, the behemoth pries its mouth open past their forces and releases an ear-shattering roar. It whips its head upward and sideways, knocking Jasminka out of the air and into the ruined entrance of Luna Nova's building. As gravity pulls Ursula down, Invidia whips its long tail around and swats Ursula away in the opposite direction.

Before she can crash against the ground, Professor Nelson suddenly swoops down to catch Ursula. With a speed and skill that would have amazed even Amanda, Nelson pulls up Ursula and seats her behind on the broom.

To Diana's surprise, she really does hear Amanda shout, "Woo hoo! Awesome catch!"

"You idiot! Not like everything's fine and dandy now! That monster's still going after Diana and the others!" Hannah yells.

"Seriously, what'd Akko do to piss this thing off?!" Barbara cries.

Spells suddenly rain down on the giant. Circling around its huge body are Finneran, Lukić, Badcock, and a few other professors. Diana picks up Holbrooke's voice somewhere farther, issuing instructions.

Despite numerous powerful spells raining down from the more experienced witches, Invidia simply shrugs them off with another deafening bellow. "Nuisances. Nuisances! I don't care about any of you! Get out of my waaaaaaaayyyyyyy!"

"I'd say get Akko out of here before she actually dies, but I'm starting to think this thing will level the school just to kill her." Sucy throws Akko an annoyed scowl. "This is ridiculous even for you, Akko."

Lotte stares forlornly at the sky. "What do we do? Even the professors can barely hold it back."

A body suddenly lands right next to Diana. Whipping pink pigtails alert Diana to who it is, briefly calming her racing heart.

"Everyone okay?" Jasminka asks. She wipes some blood from her eyes. Though it doesn't help much because more continues to trail down from her forehead.

"Jasminka!" Stanbot beeps, drawing everyone's attention to the tiny robot.

Constanze brings her hands in front of her, her left hand in a hammer fist while her right wraps around an invisible object. The pose reminds Diana of how Constanze appears while firing her rocket launcher. Constanze even mimics how her body jerks back from the force.

"Launch? Launch what?" Jasminka asks.

Constanze strikes her fist against her chest.

"Yourself?!"

"What-?!"

Even Diana couldn't have predicted Constanze's insane plan. Before she can connect the clues, Constanze swipes the vial from Sucy's hands and jumps onto Jasminka's shoulder. As she settles, Stanbot transforms to cover all of Constanze's body like her own suit of armor.

A metal plate extends to cover Constanze's face. Even with her expression unseen, Constanze makes her intentions clear with a confident thumbs up, asking Jasminka and the others to trust her judgment.

"Oh-!" Jasminka groans and hoists Constanze up. "FINE!"

Sucy's eyes widen. "Hey wait-!"

"Are you really-?!" Lotte gasps.

"You cannot be serious!" Diana moves to stop them.

(This is absurd! A suicide attempt! I won't allow this! I won't-!)

Constanze holds her hand out to stop Diana, shaking her ironclad head. She then turns her palm to flash Diana a thumbs up as well.

Diana shakes her head. "If you attempt to place that vial within the demon's body on your own, you will die from the toxins."

"Diana," Jasminka whispers, soft but loud enough for them to hear. "Trust us. You… you need to save Akko."

Diana's breath hitches in her throat. Of course she knows. But at this rate, she'll end up needing to save more than just Akko.

The situation has escalated to such extremes. Everything moved too quickly at too great of a scale for her to act in time. And now the consequences will be monumentous; assuming they can all survive in the first place.

Constanze is still hold up her hand, telling her to trust them. Invidia bellows not too far away, continuing to wreak havoc.

Trust.

"I… I trust you," Diana finally replies with a shaky breath. "I leave it to you. In return, I swear to prevent you from crossing to the afterlife as well."

Constanze pulls her hand back to a salute. Jasminka nods as well.

Together they bound toward the front of the beast. Jasminka jumps over mounds of upturned dirt while evading Invidia's random strikes. Constanze provides firearm support in case any rubble gets too close, but her gun doesn't have any effect against the beast itself.

Judging from the lack of wounds from the professors' attacks, it's clear that it'll be impossible to kill Invidia from the outside. They're left with no other choice but to administer the poison into its body and kill it from the inside out.

Jasminka stops in front of a mound situated directly in front of Invidia. The behemoth grins at the insignificant challenge.

"Oh? You're not who I want. But I can eat you first!"

"You two! What are you doing?!" Finneran shouts.

Jasminka lifts Constanze up. She pulls her arms back, and with a bellow of her own, catapults Constanze through the air and straight into Invidia's open mouth. Compared to the giant, the tiny witch easily passes through Invidia's mouth and down its throat.

Still, the demon continues to charge forward. Yet Jasminka makes no movements to flee. She stands atop her perch with her head held high and her entire unwavering being.

"JASMINKA!"

"JASNA!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"MOVE!"

But Invidia suddenly freezes right before Jasminka. Its jaw remains open, its bloody saliva dripping down its teeth and stationary tongue to trickle down right in front of Jasminka. Even as steam rises from the acrid fluid, Jasminka's stare remains resolute.

"Oh…" Its wide eyes bulge. "OHHH- OOOOHHHHHHHHHH!"

Invidia throws its head back and howls. But rather than a taunt, it's a cry laced with agony and torment. Its giant head swings side to side. The faces covering its body start to bubble like boiling water. Its eyes bulge and expand until they burst into acid. The giant white teeth that nearly crushed them all before starts to fall out one by one.

"Oh my god… Sucy, what did you make?!" Lotte cries.

Sucy's awe is caught between amazement and horror. "My best work yet. To think it'd be this effective. Even I knew not to use this on Akko."

"I'm sorry what?!" Diana exclaims.

"No, no, I got Sucy to stop doing that! She's just joking! Right, Sucy?!"

"Yeah yeah."

They turn back to the monster as it continues to collapse onto itself. Its green skin melts next, followed by muscle and down to bone. The guttural screams die off as the organs that allow it to cry out no longer exist. By the time its voice is nothing but a lasting impression in the wind, there is nothing left of Invidia except for its giant skeleton.

At the center of it all is Constanze on her back. The Stanbot armor no longer protects her. Instead her body is covered in numerous third degree burns and severe ulcers.

Jasminka is already rushing to her fallen friend. Before Diana can go as well, Sucy places a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"You have someone else you need to save." She gestures to Akko with her eyes. "Go. Or you're really going to lose her."

From the corner of her eyes, Diana sees Constanze lift a shaky thumbs up for the world to see. Jasminka breaks out into a watery chuckle as the other professors land beside them.

Diana nods. Without another word, she gently lifts Akko once more and takes off toward the infirmary. The room is toward the inside of the campus, so it is most likely not as damaged as the front portion.

Though even if Ophelia has no room to help Akko, Diana will save her girlfriend by any means necessary. She will not lose Akko, not after they had nearly been separated not even one year ago. She will not let their futures end so abruptly before it has even started.

(I will not let you die! I will not allow anyone to die!)

The world passes by in a blur. Diana isn't sure when she reached the infirmary and left Akko to Ophelia's care. She only stands among the flurry of movement without doing anything until someone moves her to the side to assess her own injuries. She perceives nothing of the outside world, so caught up in her own shackling thoughts.

(I will not allow anyone else to die. However…) Diana stares at her hands. (…will I be able to?)

Author's Notes:

So I came up with the ideas for this story before chapter 12 of the Satou Keisuke manga came out. That's all I'm going to say about that XD

I did not mean to hurt Lotte again and almost kill Constanze. I really did not. Please believe me.

Fun Fact:

If anyone is familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, yes Invidia's shapeshifting and monster form is based on Envy. Does Envy have melting blood as saliva though? Nope. I took some liberties.

Honestly, I kept the powers and form because I liked the reasoning behind it. People who are jealous of others want what others have. Which is why Invidia is able to change into any form it wishes. All of those heads on its body are supposed to represent the countless forms that it can choose to copy. And they're crying because being a Demon is suffering.