Lucky Souls
Chapter 10: Solitude
"Oh gosh, ow, that's gotta hurt…" The nubile archer mumbled to herself as she squinted at the sadly humorous site before her.
The little bow-haired girl she was attempting to rescue had failed miserably in her escape, completely missing her jump to the nearby musty wooden platform by quite the margin, managing instead to crunch into an adjacent one, break through that, to the next one, breaking through that, and each subsequent one until she reached the bottom of the mine shaft, how could one be so unfortunate?
"Um, are you injured?" The high-pitched savior beckoned to Tsukasa as she lay upon the musty ground, gentle tears slowly leaking from her now red and puffy eyes at her own misfortune. She really did seem to attract foul luck, and to top it off she was completely clueless when it came to defending herself, she was surely doomed to die in this place if she continued to exist in her current pitiful state. "More importantly, are you alive?" The voice of the archer called once again, to which even the dim-witted girl could raise a brow at, if she wasn't, why would she answer anyway?
"Yes! I'm fine…sort of." She answered back, trailing off slightly as she stood on her now achy joints, dusting herself off and wiping the few looming tears on her now stained cheeks that still stingily clung to her.
"Alright, if you can move, try and make your way out of that nest! There are giant man-eating worms in those tunnels, and they spit lava from their maws!" The archer called back once more, her bubbly voice not even slightly hinting that she was worried for the well-being of the bow-haired girl, she seemed to have the upmost confidence in her non-existent skills. "If you can't…well, uh, sucks to be you! I'll hurry down there as fast as I can!" Her savior echoed down to her, disappearing from view overhead as the still disorientated girl steadfastly stood, ready to leave the area as soon as she could.
Man-eating lava-spitting worms certainly didn't want to be something she would run into, in fact, she would prefer if she didn't run into any trouble, ever, maybe the demons could just take five in her presence she figured, she bore them no ill will anyway, why were they so aggressive towards such a kind and gentle girl?
As she scanned the area, she really did wonder how such a place was formed. Just how deep did the miners go? Deep enough to meet boiling lava at the pit center of the mines, but it seemed to continue even deeper into the unknown. Whatever they had found, it must have been worth quite the incalculable sum for them to rip through an entire mountain to seek it out.
The muddy ground at her feet was laden with massive holes; likely the burrowing tunnels of the worm-beasts the archer claimed drilled their way through the area. Tsukasa didn't like insects in the first place, but giant ones? That ate people? And spit lava? The thought didn't even process clearly in her mind; such a horror could surely never exist, even in the demon-ridden kingdom of Boletaria.
The nest was riddled with the bones of the dead, likely the miners, who had unknowingly stumbled upon the nest and were consequentially torn to shreds by the monstrous insects. Shockingly, it seems that the incident didn't deter their vigor or greed in the slightest, the tunnels continued to shred through the mountain walls, deeper and deeper, seemingly never ending.
As Tsukasa snail-paced her way through one of the many available miners' tunnels, lit only by the timidly glowing cave-crystals that seemed to grow hungrily from the stone walls, she heard a rattling in the distance, more foul luck it seemed.
As she approached the jingling bedlam, she found that it stemmed from more of those bulbous miners, still mindlessly tearing the jewels from the slabs in hopes of bartering them for the coin they would never receive. There was seemingly no way to sneak past the corpulent diggers, and assaulting them head on certainly wasn't an option in her case, she was at quite the impasse.
Her decision would be made for her when without warning, the claustrophobic tunnel suddenly shook violently, and sprouting from its wall like a newborn flower, one of those worm-beasts appeared, at least a dozen feet long, pale and featureless apart from the razor-sharp maw at it's beak, which excreted a dark copper magma.
The miners turned to face the new foe, only to be heaved upon by the insect, and melted into a fine pulp on the ground, sizzling and lighting the area ablaze with flame. As if to make a point that it was not to be trifled with, the worm's maw suddenly latched onto one of the still-living miners, and dragged him into the depths of its burrowing hole, his muffled screams vanishing along with him.
Peeping out a few distressing whimpers, Tsukasa could do nothing but gawk as the miners lives were shorted out in front of her. She reprimanded herself for her innate cowardice, but she just couldn't help it, while her friends were much more readily accepting of such horrors, she just couldn't handle it. Such things were unnatural to her in every sense of the word, unfit for the darkest nightmares let alone the waking world.
She ridged herself as she moved forward, her body as stiff as a board as she tip-toed over the melting messes of miner corpses, and past the tunnel of the worm, that howled with wind. To her dismay, the tunnel seemed to lead only to another nest, once again laden with the corpses of miners, the patchwork of battle. Just where was that archer anyway? She certainly wasn't hurrying fast enough, the bow-haired girl mused.
The rippling sound of cooking lava tickled in her ear, somewhat reminiscent of a boiling stew, the two were becoming synonymous it seemed, with her culinary skills, she somewhat feared a terrible ironic death of plummeting into the red hot goo.
Turning tail, she was met with one of those worm-beasts, standing tall and staring her down with its non-existent eyes, its maw bared and ready to spew the murky lava in her direction. Frozen in shock, she had to mentally slap herself to remember how her legs worked, diving out of the path of the spillage by mere inches.
As she attempted to scrawl to her feet, she felt a heavy impact upon the small of her back, it knocked the breath from her harshly, sending her flying into a nearby slab of stone with a thud.
Her blurry vision made out the worm's tail, which had paddled her with an odd ferocity. Body tingling with pain, she spurred herself to get up as quickly as she could, but it was far too late. The worm had already followed up with another whip of the tail, which cracked against her timid frame callously and sent her flying mid-air once more, this time crashing through a nearby mine cart.
Whimpering with fear, Tsukasa's now tear-smeared vision passed to her hand, which was caked in fresh blood, a loose strand of sharp wood had apparently pierced her like a nail, splitting directly through her tender palm.
She felt queasy, and couldn't help herself when she burped up a small portion of leaky vomit. Her mind buzzed, and she felt the despair of hopelessness as the great beast closed in, ready to melt her into oblivion, or eat her, or whatever it was that demons did.
What happened next, she couldn't recall, as she sluggishly passed into unconsciousness, she heard a mighty yell of something far off, which slowly closed in as a shadow in her vision. The shadow tackled the worm beast mid-air, standing atop its head and savagely shooting an arrow through its jaw mercilessly.
As the demon bucked like a raging bull, the shadowed figure could do nothing but hold on for dear life as they were slung to and fro, and Tsukasa could do nothing but surrender to the imminent slumber that took her.
"Well would you look at that, Darkmoon stone!" A sharply acute voice suddenly spilled out, ringing throughout her tender ears as the bow-haired girl awoke to the waking world once more, blurry vision barely making out a rich gleam in the distance.
The gleam in question appeared to stem from a large raw looking jewel, which was carefully placed with care into a brilliant film thin gold necklace. The necklace gave her the thoughts of chills present on her neckline, and upon closer inspection, saw that the necklace was in fact hers.
"H-Hey! That's mine!" Tsukasa peeped out as she attempted to reach for her stolen jewelry, only to feel a twang of agony burst from her jutted hand. Upon closer inspection, the tender limb had been wrapped in soft gauze, which was pattered with splotches of dried blood.
"Oh, sorry, I was just taking a look. I mean, Darkmoon! That's pretty rare stuff, it's an unnatural cave crystal that grows only in the Shadow Worshiper's highlands, how did you get your hands on it?" The still shadowed figure asked as she tossed the medallion back to its rightful owner, who feverishly juggled with it for a moment before maintaining a hold on the thing.
"Well…apparently it's my mothers. I wouldn't know since I've never met her, but my older sisters would often speak of her in stories, they said from what little they remember, my parents were very kind and spiritual people, and that they hailed from some far away land." Tsukasa recalled thoughtfully, gazing affectionately at the pendant in her palm. "They left us with our aunt when we were very young, other than that, I don't much about them." She continued now sorrowfully, clasping the necklace around her neck with a snap and turning her attention back to her would be savior. "Anyway, I never got to thank you, you saved my life." Tsukasa respectfully praised with a bow, earning only a hearty laugh from her savior.
"No need, no need, I was in the area." The veiled figure joked as she stood lankily from her kneeling position, un-bathing herself from the darkness to reveal a rather shapely young woman, her fit navel and cleavage exposed haphazardly, and a messy mop of short blonde hair placed atop her head. "I'm Patricia Martin, by the way. My friends, if any were still alive, would probably call me Patty." The archer chirped bubbly, slamming her hands to her snapped hips and readying a hero pose for what would likely be her new number one fan, after dazzling her with those heroic movies, how could one think any different?
"Nice to meet you, Patty-Chan. I'm Tsukasa." Her less than enthused fan responded with a confused smile, shutting down the eccentric archer's attempts at lofting her heroics and causing the would-be-hero to drop her to bottom with a groan. "Um…Patty-Chan, if I may, what are you doing here? This place is pretty dangerous." Tsukasa mumbled to herself, but dangerous for whom she wondered? While the bow-haired girl seemed to be nearly killed at every turn, this nimble little archer certainly seemed more than able to handle herself in any sort of situation.
"Why, I'm here for the treasure! The glory! The romance! Isn't that why you're here?" The archer known as Patty asked ambitiously with a cocked head, earning only a sway of the head from her newly met companion. "Hmm, well, why are you here?" She prodded once more, only to once again be met with silence and shifty eyes, the meeting of the dull-witted minds clamoring together in their question for answers.
"Well, the thing is. I'm not entirely sure how I got here, I was traveling with my friends and then…I don't really remember." The puzzled bow-haired girl explained as she searched for any scrap of memory that may still loom in the confines of her mind, but she drew only blanks.
The mop-headed archer couldn't help but feel pity for the sniveling girl before her, lost, alone, and afraid, she probably wouldn't last long in Boletaria, especially without the proper gall, training, and assistance. Patty could barely contain herself when her mouth ripped itself upward into a wily grin, what great super hero doesn't have a plucky sidekick?
"Hmm, I'll make you a deal Tsukasa." The archer sounded as she knelt down beside the blubbering heap of a runny nose and dampened eyes below her, placing a firm grip on her delicate shoulders. "You know I said I was here for treasure? Well, that's right. But not just any case of jewels and gold coins, I assure you. No, what I'm after is worth the wealth of a small kingdom!" She applauded as she exploded from her kneeling position, thrashing her arms in the air in an attempt to illustrate the mystery and amazement to the confused bow-haired girl.
"W-What is it?" Tsukasa asked, not even attempting to hide the concrete excitement that was bubbling to the surface, she practically salivated as the archer took a dramatic pause mid-tale for good measure.
"A sword." Patty said as triumphantly as possible, as if such a thing was the ultimate goal or prize that all treasure hunters hope to one day attain. Her one-woman audience was either confused, or not very impressed, the twisted curl of her lips was a sign of her bewilderment at the odd girl, and disappointment that the great treasure wasn't something a little more fantastic.
"That's it?" Tsukasa peeped, being an avid believer in stories and fairy tales; she would have readily believed any made-up nonsense the archer might have spilled out, no matter how unbelievable the treasure may have been, the bow-haired girl would have been dim-witted enough to believe it real.
"Er, well, it isn't just any sword!" Patty thumped, stomping her foot on the ground in a light tantrum before regaining her heroic demeanor. "It's made of raw dragon bone, and not the bones of any dragon, the god of dragons, the big kahuna, papa chief, master in commander, the dragon to rule over all scale-ridden beasts!" The archer exploded passionately; arching herself as outwardly as possible to illustrate the magnitude such a discovery would bring, a tale for the ages, to be sure.
"Wow…" The bow-haired girl whispered, now fully enthralled in the babble of the heroic treasure hunter, who now had the poor girl right where she wanted her.
"That's right. I intend to claim this sword and go down in history! People will remember my name throughout the ages, Patricia Martin, the one who claimed the dreaded dragon god sword! Bow down before her heroic might!" Patty cheered enthusiastically, pulling her companion to her feet and brutishly wrapping an arm around her shoulder, ready to share the wealth and glory at hand. "The deal is, you help me retrieve this sword? And I'll help you find your friends." She offered graciously, while she cared mostly about her own monetary gain, the archer figured it couldn't hurt to help this pour soul out, besides, if worse came to worse she could always use her sidekick as a human shield.
"You'd really do that?" Tsukasa questioned suspiciously, yet mingled with her suspicion was a tinge of hope, she just couldn't help it. She wasn't the type to distrust people, she readily and naively saw good in even the most tortured and deranged souls, and this slap-happy little adventurer certainly didn't seem like an ill-natured person, she figured she'd give her a shot; it isn't like she could go on helplessly trying to defend herself.
"You bet I would, heroes like me don't just turn down weak, feeble, souls such as yourself!" Patty heartily proclaimed, making her way out of the small alcove the two found themselves in and standing at its edge, beholding the continuous dive ever downward, walls patched together with broken and crusty walkways in awful states of disrepair and disuse. "Now come on! What're we waiting for! Onward, to adventure!" The archer howled like a wolf, diving nonchalantly headfirst into the savage looking pit without a care in the world.
As Tsukasa stumbled over to the hole in a panic, she saw the girl swinging like an ape from one platform to the next, saying she was physically fit was quite the understatement, this strange happy-go-lucky treasure hunter seemed to have an unnatural wildness about her, just how long had she been alone? Humans naturally crave interaction and attention, and when alone for long periods of time, the mind can force one to create such things; it was obvious this girl longed for quite some time for her mind to be satiated in those respects. Tsukasa couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the girl, alone for so long just waiting for a friend, perhaps this is why she seemed so alive and full of energy, or maybe she was just nuts, who could tell?
"Do you need something?" A figure dampened with a light sweat asked the approaching shadow behind her. She could always tell when that witch was near, she had a horridly unnatural air about her, and it radiated from her existence, dripped off of every syllable that escaped her crooked lips. The girl could do nothing without the knowledge of her master; she was but a dog playing fetch before the witch.
"Oh, nothing too urgent, just a status report, any sign of him?" The shadowed witch asked her pet, earning only a click of the teeth in response, she knew her servant wasn't exactly ecstatic of her position, but it wasn't as if the broken in mutt had any choice.
"No. It seems he left here as quickly as he came, I'm not even sure what he hoped to gain by coming here, and this mine isn't exactly a tourist hotspot." The lapdog mused, her dry humor being lost on her inhuman master, who could only scold her with a furrowed brow, hidden behind a gold-crested mask upon her face.
"And what of the girl?" The master questioned, a shake of the head from her servant resigning her of any more probing. Her questions left unanswered, the witch departed, using a most abnormal method of traveling, a hole was torn into the air in a flash, which she promptly fled into.
Watching her master leave, the dog sighed deeply over the fate that awaited her pitiful existence if she didn't fetch, sit, and roll over when she was commanded to. Her imaginary collar tightly clung around her soft, flushed neck, a constant reminder of who was in charge, and who was the tool.
Her tanned skin was laden with bruises and open wounds, age-old scars and lash marks at her back. Her master had saved her from the groveling life of a slave, but exactly how different was her life now? She still had a master, she still wore chains physical or otherwise, she still took orders and still followed them to a key, unquestioning, thoughtlessly. She was indebted to the witch for saving her, forever sworn to loyally obey her dominating will, and while her mind was constantly filled with regret over her decision from one indentured servitude to the next, she had no choice but to obey.
She wondered what her master even wanted with the man, she wasn't really allowed to question orders when she received them, she learned that early on, painfully. It seemed the only way she would ever escape from the witch would be by death, by her own hand or by a demon's, but she was too prideful for such things, in her eyes that would mean that the master had won, and she wouldn't give her the satisfaction of being broken, she would fight until the bitter end presented itself, and then she'd take that leap with a smile.
Her burdensome train of thought was cracked when she heard a buzzing beating at her ear drums. She stood nonchalantly, dusting off her ragged and torn pants and turning tail. The mine was infested with them, but she knew not where they came from, nobody did. There were capacious and heavyset, and at first glance appeared to resemble a common pill bug, crusty, tough shell on the outside, and squishy and vulnerable on the inside, somewhat resembling a mealworm. Their shells opened like a beetle, and allowed them brief flights, which was amazing considering their insurmountable size and weight.
Because of this, the tanned-skin slave nicknamed them Bearbugs, because of their bear-like stature, and insect-like appearance. The strange chimera hybrids were among the most numerous of the beasts that monotonously roamed the flaming caverns, and while she wasn't exactly positive, she assumed that they were at the top of the food chain in this place. That was the whole thing though, they weren't entirely aggressive, one might even say docile. They only reacted harshly if struck or goaded first, otherwise they mindlessly went about their work, which oddly enough, was harvesting magma.
It didn't seem possible, but the bulbously fat insects somehow gorged on the stuff, drinking it like soup until they were full and ready, where they would then transport it deeper into the mine for unknown purposes, perhaps to feed a queen, but the slave wasn't exactly ecstatic to discover such a thing.
The Bearbug at her back seemed oddly hostile, its barbed pincers clicked and clacked quite generously, issuing a challenge to the intruder. The slave wasn't exactly one to decline such an offer, and from her back she tore a mighty spear, at least the length of her petite form.
The beast's many eyes trained themselves on the miniscule prey, and without warning the bulbous insect dropped like a stone from its levitating position, crashing hard onto the ground and sending a rippling shockwave outward in all directions.
The slave wasted no time in sprinting directly at her opponent, slamming her spear downward and using it to pole vault directly over the sweeping winds, and land her directly on the back of the shelled insect. She thrust her spear downward once more, but the hide was far too thick, she probably should've learned that by now. It bucked once at her attempt, sending her flying upwards, followed casually by the Bearbug, whose wings jetted at alarming speeds, far too quickly for the human eye to follow.
Being conveniently under its fleshy underbelly, the lapdog thrust her spear upwards, splitting into the delicate body directly. She couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat when she looked below her, it seemed the Bearbug was taking her ever higher, and all she saw at her feet was the gentle steam pouring from the lakes of magma, this was not good.
She swung herself like a pendulum while gripping her spear, slowly but surely getting somewhat of a hold onto the beasts belly, which was caked in its own sticky and slimy juices, constantly being secreted by its hundreds of diminutive legs, lathering up its bulbous form.
Without warning, the insect took a nose dive, aiming directly towards the murky boiling pot below them. She grimaced when she realized what the goop on its belly was, it was a specialized heat retardant slime of sorts, it would protect the shelled beast easily, but she'd be fizzled to dust in a matter of seconds.
She scrawled her way across its belly, grabbing a hold from one wiggling little appendage to the next until she reached the rear end of the living train, climbing atop its shell once more and shifting her eyes to and fro in search of anything she could grab onto, even a low-hanging rock would do, but it seemed she was quite out of luck.
Her throat fumed with hot juices at the very thought of what she was thinking of doing, but she really was out of options. Lodging her spear between two rough plates of the beasts hide, she tugged them apart as much as she could, revealing the snow white mealworm inside.
She placed a foot inside, her shoeless feet instantly slathered by the gooey lubricants, but she'd have to suck it up if she wanted to survive. Following her apprehensive foot was her entire body, tightly packaged and stuffed into the hide of the beast.
With what little room she had inside the tight-fitting shell, she pried the hide closed once more, praying to the gods above that this incredibly idiotic yet oddly devilish plan would somehow suffice. Allowing the slime to do its work, the fire-proof goo soon coated her entire body, and she clenched her eyes as tight as she could in thoughtless prayer, feeling the booming crash of the insect slamming into the lake of lava.
The pressure from the heat was indescribable, but she felt no pain, she looked herself over to make sure her blood wasn't boiling from her skin, yet remarkably she found she was completely in tact. To her, it was as if she was resting in the air-tight cabin of a ship at sea, crushing against rocky waves.
"Well, this sucks." The slave mumbled, covered head to toe in slime riding inside a giant insect down a river of lava wasn't exactly a scene she pictured she'd be caught in the middle of, let alone a scene that could ever transpire to anyone, ever.
She knew the goop would keep her safe in any environment, so her worry was washed away with the looming dread that began to cloud her mind, stained into her thoughts, she couldn't help but feel awry about the mission at hand. Her master was very specific, find the target, inform her of his location, and she would send her most elite to hunt him down, and end him. She held no pleasure in her job, which could be classified as something of a spy. She could deceive, use wiles, lie, trick, trap, she could use it all to lure her target out into the open, unguarded and vulnerable, ready to be taken out at her masters call.
The slave was told she may never lay a hand on the target, and that their deaths would be handled accordingly, without her worry or involvement. Why this was, she wasn't entirely sure, her master seemed almost sacred about her job, taking assignments with the upmost care and delicacy, handling and performing them as a master often does, pulling the strings of others.
For now, she could do nothing but resign herself to the controlled existence of a puppet, a tool, and a slave; she could be nothing more and nothing less. Shaking away such thoughts, it occurred to her only now that she hadn't eaten in days, her master scarcely fed her, and what little she ate wasn't exactly gourmet cooking.
Hearing a pinching growl at her gut, she nonchalantly cut a bit of flesh from the mealworms hide, popping it into her mouth with a squishy crunch. As it slithered down her throat, her eye twitched accordingly, and her face contorted into one of harsh disapproval.
"Sour…"
"What is this place?" The understandably confused bow-haired girl asked her newfound companion, who had just presented to her what appeared to be more or less, an underground city.
The mighty structures were somewhat reminiscent of ancient Roman cultures, erected from marbled stone and held together by lengthy pillars, ridden with moss and nature, which had slowly but surely eroded and consumed them. Monuments of whatever gods they worshipped seemed to line the streets, frozen in time, forever watching over their long deceased children.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. Apparently the good king Allant didn't know about this place when he carved his way down here, he stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient civilization!" Patty excitedly explained, thrusting her arms upward in jubilation. "And that's when they found it." The archer continued, stopping dead in her tracks and leaning in towards the bow-haired girl, as if god forbid any of the demons heard her secrets. "The Dragon God." Patty finished her tale expertly, allowing just the right amount of terror to ooze from her voice so that it would flow to her one-woman audience.
"W-What happened next?" Tsukasa hesitantly asked, somewhat intrigued by the wily girls tale, but at the same time wishing the archer would withhold bits of the story for the sake of her poor heart.
"Well, that's pretty much when the fog set in. Allant ordered the mine, its findings, and all of its residents liquefied, and he sealed it away from the world, he didn't have time to pursue ancient civilizations and lost secrets, the Old One was here and raring to go, so whatever treasures that lay buried in these ancient walls were forever forgotten…until now." Patty finished, whispering the final tidbit to herself in anticipation for her no doubt glory-filled future. She knew there were numerous treasure-hunters before her that had come to the lands of Boletaria in search of fame and grandeur, but she would put them all to shame if she found that sword, she would be a legend, she would be the stuff of stories that bed-ridden children would hear and get inspired by, this was her future set in stone as she saw it, and the brave archer intended for it to play out exactly as such.
While her eccentric companion was lost to her own devices and inner workings, Tsukasa was allowed a moment of reprieve as she beheld the ancient city. While rotted with age, there was something solid about it, untouched. The miners hadn't dug this deep, apparently, the city was unsoiled, likely still fat with age old riches and relics ready for the taking, and it would remain this way forever more. The bow-haired girl silently thanked to the gods above, believing they had performed a sleight of hand in assisting these resting people, so their eternal slumber in their peaceful home would go untested.
Coolly running her still tender palm against a moss-covered statue of some odd looking deity, Tsukasa had an odd moment of clarity, something some might say was a miracle for the dim-witted younger twin. The key word that imprinted itself into her mind, home, she didn't have one. People would always tell the orphaned Hiiragi sisters, home is where the heart is, or where you make it, and while that was all well and good, it didn't satiate her tickling urge to find out where she came from, who she really was.
The earliest memories she could ever force to bubble into her thoughts were nothing but flashes, glimpses of things she may have experienced, perhaps they were just dreams. Of her parents, she knew nothing, and remembered nothing. She didn't know what they looked like, sounded like, or acted like, if they bumped into her in the street one afternoon she sure wouldn't know.
Her elder sisters were often suspiciously sketchy on the details when it came to their parents, their heritage; it seemed sometimes it was even a slight mystery to them. That same ever-present and fickle mystery would loom in her shrouded thoughts as she lay awake each night, wondering about the life she couldn't remember, one that seemed more like a fairytale. She tried to piece together how she thought her parents would look, sound, and act like; she'd play out scenarios in her ticking head.
At the front of these loitering muses were the booming questions, where were they now? Were they even alive? Did they still love her? That was difficult to answer, considering they seemingly abandoned their quartet of daughters, who knows what their level of care or animosity towards their now orphaned children was. Why did they even leave in the first place? Perhaps there was a reason; it had to have been something very important to woefully leave behind ones kin, a piece of their wholeness.
Wherever they were now, and wherever the bow-haired girl really came from, she supposed that it didn't really matter. Present events excluded, she had a pretty fantastic life, a loving family, and a wonderful home, and that was all that mattered to the simple girl.
"Hey, you okay Tsu?" Patty chirped heavily into her now buzzing ear, earning only a brief pause and a gentle nod from her still half-in-thoughts companion. "Good, 'cause we're here." The archer proclaimed rather loudly, tossing her arms into the air and presenting the destination they were apparently seeking.
"Here?" Tsukasa whispered, beholding what appeared to be a massive door. It was at least a hundred feet across, and a hundred feet tall, wrought in stone and carved with ancient markings. The marks seemed to connect to one another, each ending on either side of the door at a latch of sorts. While at length it would likely appear to be just a door, upon closer inspection it would reveal that it was actually a colossal lock, but what would somebody need such a monumentally sized safe for? And how would one even go about breaching such a thing?
Unbeknownst to the two adventurers, waddling onto the rocky slopes behind them was a rather distraught slave, still laden in the sticky inner-juices of the mighty insect she had sheltered herself in. At first she cocked a brow, there shouldn't have been anybody in the mines, she would've known it, and nobody could've slipped past her ever-watchful and vigilant eyes.
"Who the hell…?" Was all the slave could mutter to herself as she took a hunched position behind some decayed debris, peeking just enough to allow herself some insight as to who might be desecrating these sacred ruins, treasure hunters was a likely guess, but no greedy swordsman ever made it this deep into the mine.
"Now I'll bet you're wondering how we open this beast. Well, don't worry, that's where you come in." Patty explained, extending her reach to her gentle companion's neck and ripping the loose-fitting necklace off roughly.
"H-Hey!" Tsukasa worriedly peeped as her most prized possession was torn from her person a second time that day, but it seemed this time the wily treasure hunter seemed intent on playing keep-a-way.
"Don't you get it? Darkmoon stone, your necklace, that's the key to opening this door! Darkmoon stone isn't natural to this area, so there's no way somebody would ever figure out how to open it, but I did, and I'm not missing my chance." Patty squeaked rather apologetically, looking oddly serious as she eyed the crest-shaped hole on the door. Ever so slowly, the austere archer pressed the dark-shaded crystal necklace inward, and amazingly, it was a near perfect fit.
Before Tsukasa could reprimand the thieving archer, her eyes were glued to her necklace, which began to faintly glow a pure white. The bleached brilliance began to seep outward from the stone, melding its way throughout the carvings, which were now shown to take on the shape of a tree, leafless and long dead. As each mighty latch began to split like thinly cut wood, the two adventurers were forced to move backward as the door was seemingly forced open roughly, crumbling open in an avalanche of horse-sized boulders.
The slave could do nothing but watch in horror as the adventurer's had literally damned themselves. They had no idea what they were getting into, and as much as she thought it was a pain to assist morons, she really had no choice.
"Hey, you idiots! What do you think you're doing!" The slave roared out, approaching the two still fumbling warriors, shaking their bodies of any dust that had clung to them in the lock's destruction. Turning their attention to the strange tanned girl who approached them, neither girl even had time to get a single syllable off before an overwhelmingly ear-splitting screech erupted throughout the dead city, rumbling the very ground at their feet.
Dead silence filled the air; the three women's gazes were drawn into the musky rubble of the now missing door, where an ominous orange glow had presented itself, gently swaying back and forth in the eclipse of sweeping fog.
"You idiots! Do you even know what you've done!" The slave erupted once more, tearing the tipped lance from her back and pointing it in the direction of the light; the two adventurer's took the hint, and tore their weapons out as well.
"Yeah, we're about to become the greatest adventurer's this world has ever seen!" Patty chuckled to the strange girl, earning only a face of complete bafflement in response.
"You don't get it do you? Now that the lock's gone the Dragon God can leave whenever it wants!" The slave tried to explain as easily as she could to the thick-headed archer.
Patty's expression of pure joy slowly but surely twanged into one of mild confusion, which continually melted into one of great horror, she was completely at a loss for words, but her bewilderment would have to wait, the ominous citrus cloud of flame finally revealed itself from the rubble of the lock, flying through the air and exploding onto the ground in front of the girls, presenting a hellish looking brute of a demon.
It was somewhat reminiscent of a bull at the head, and a man at the bottom, one would likely think Minotaur at first glance but this was not so. The only bull-like feature on the beast was the coiling horns that tore from its skull, flaring red eyes and a gaping maw of a mouth that salivated boiling magma, oozing onto the floor with a harsh sizzle. Its body was that of a man, but its hands and feet were hoof-like, and with each step the monster took, the ground took fire at its feet. It was at least the height of two men, and hunched on all fours like a wild beast.
"I can't believe this…" The slave mumbled, screaming in frustration before she charged the bull head on, bearing her own horns as she leaped into the air with the grace of a jungle cat, landing firmly onto the monsters back and driving her spear harshly into its spine. "Don't just stand there!" She called out to the two bewildered adventurer's, holding on for dear life as the stone-bull bucked backwards roughly, bellowing with a low-pitched rumble.
Turning to her companion, Tsukasa shook the fractured girl harshly, panicking when it seemed Patty was locked into somewhat of a trance. The bow-haired girl had no choice; she had to get her to safety, that came before assisting the strange tanned warrior. Latching onto the archer's hand, Tsukasa roughly pulled her in the first aimless direction that came to mind, feeling a lifting wind at her feet, she looked backwards to find that the bull had erupted into a monstrous flame, sending both her and her companion flying through the air and crashing roughly onto the ground, rolling several dozen feet like ragdolls before coming to a sudden stop.
"Crap." The slave mumbled at the seemingly useless girls, thanking the gods above that she was still slicked with the grease of the Bearbug, this would be her only failsafe during the fight with the beast whose strength was apparently rippling flame.
The bull roared once more before charging the slave head on, but this girl wouldn't be deterred, it wasn't as if she had anything to lose. She charged forward as well, pressing her spear to the bull as she closed the gap, but wasn't expecting the beast to be somewhat intelligent, it wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.
Without warning, the monster suddenly jumped high into the air, claiming the height of a bird as it gently flew upwards towards the stalagmite-laden ceiling, grasping onto one of the sharp-tipped stones and bursting out with a mighty cry, causing the pronged rocks to tumble downwards and pierce the ground.
While not her immediate concern, the slave noted the two wind-slapped girls wouldn't survive the cave-in, and decided that their safety was priority. Her gaze turned towards the downed adventurer's, and like lightning she burst towards them, scooping up one in each arm at whistling speeds, crisscrossing and twirling her conditioned body with an odd grace to try and avoid the constantly plummeting stone swords around her, which cracked into the earth and tore it asunder with each plop.
An aimless sharp stone slammed directly into the earth at her feet, apparently she had missed one, and the culminating gust of wind sent all three girls flying in separate directions, this beast was playing with them, apparently it hadn't had entertaining prey in some time. If it wanted them dead it surely would have done so immediately, it seemed to have the gall of a hunter, and the thrill of the hunt almost satiated it.
"Oh, buzz off!" The slave moaned as she stumbled to her feet, covering her face as the beast dropped itself loosely from the ceiling, crashing into the center of the wreckage and standing upon its hind legs, gruffly snorting its literally flaring nostrils in anticipation for its meager opponents next move. "Okay, okay, I get it. Let's play then…" The spear-wielder cockily said as she glazed her vision, focusing intently on the beast, she'd have to read its every movement. It was big, but incredibly agile, something that seemed to be a rather humdrum consistency with the beasts of the mine.
Tsukasa's eyes flashed open as a surge of pain erupted throughout her feeble body, shivering through her until she was sitting upward with a rough gasp for air. Her eyes horrifically moved towards her hand, which was very obviously broken, a jagged and milky white bone jutting from her snow white skin, splotching blood up and down her arm and shoulder.
Leaky tears streamed down her eyes as she moaned out in agony, pressing her buzzing head against the water-slicked stalagmite that had nearly cleaved her in two. She heard the gasps and grunts of the tanned spear-wielder as she fought the demon, and its own roars flaring back at its opponent, but she knew she could do nothing to help, she really was useless that way.
When her eccentric little blue-haired friend had propositioned her assistance that day, she couldn't even respond before her sister completely abolished the idea, refusing to place her kin in any unnecessary peril. Tsukasa couldn't argue, when her twin had something engraved into her mind, it was set, and the decision was unchangeable. And so it was that Konata, her twin, and Miyuki set out that morning without her, leaving her in the dust to go and save the day, it was then that the bow-haired girl had an epiphany.
She was weak, she was feeble, she was a coward, she couldn't fight, she wasn't smart, about the only thing she could manage was to cook up a good meal, but for every glaring fault she had, for every monstrous blunder she could name about herself, it still wounded her greatly that her twin would leave her behind, thinking she just wasn't strong enough. Her arm twisted like a noose, and her eyes bleeding with wet tears, she recalled that night, the night she'd cease to be afraid.
"You're kidding me…you followed us? Tsukasa, what did I say? You can't come, it's too dangerous!" The older twin had lashed out at her harshly, an odd sight to be sure. Kagami wasn't one for anger directed at those who did not deserve her wrath, and her delicate twin was definitely at the top of that list, but when she had seen her directly disobey her, something that her sister had made so crystal clear and set it stone, she just couldn't help but be upset.
"Onee-chan please, just listen!" The younger twin begged back, tugging onto the fiery tsundere's shirt with shaky hands, only for her sister to brush her off gruffly.
Konata wanted to believe that the bow-haired girl would be a great asset on their journey; she wouldn't have propositioned her to come along otherwise, but if her own sister couldn't sway the mind of Kagami, then she surely couldn't, but she could definitely attempt such a daring feat.
"Hey Kagamin-" The bluenette peeped only for a rough hand to be slammed onto her mouth in a split second, hastily silencing the girl.
"Konata, shut up. I don't need you taking her side on this, and Tsukasa, my answer is the same as it was back home, you're not coming with us, and that is final." Kagami commanded, leaving absolutely no room for argument, it seemed her mind was set it stone, nothing could change it. "See Konata, that's why I told you, this was all just a bad idea, we need to go back anyway to bring Tsukasa home, let's just give up the whole idea!" Her elder twin yelled in the background, her angry voice slowly dissipating, becoming drown out by the savage ringing now barraging her ears.
She was tired of it, the bow-haired girl was a simple being with simple needs, wishing only to live a safe and peaceful life, settle down and grow to old age, where she could live out her golden years in tranquility. Her crumbled fists at her sides shook with a rumble of rage, but also the booming fear that consumed her when she even thought of fighting back against her sister.
"I…" She peeped out, barely a whisper, her arguing friends heard none of it as she steadied her quaking form, trying to find the evasive center that was eluding her, she just needed to be calm and collected, she wouldn't just try to make her twin understand, she'd make her understand. "Onee-chan." She peeped out once more, still inaudible, she couldn't demand respect with such meager and docile tones, she'd need to erupt, she needed to show her friends what she was made of, she wasn't weak, she wasn't stupid, she held no fear, and she'd prove it. "Onee-chan!" She burst out violently, her squeaky voice cracking at its peak and deafening all in the vicinity, ending the hasty argument taking place in a flash, and turning all attention to her.
Her heart hammered, drumming violently against her chest as her slow breaths slowly increased into heavy panting, she felt as though she was going to faint, but she couldn't be deterred, she wasn't afraid, she couldn't be afraid.
"I'm…I-I-I'm…I'm g-going…" She quaked out, her voice as shaky as her leafy body, pressing her angled feet harder into the dust, she reaffirmed her position, her eyes met her twins, her teary-eyed and blurry vision barely making out the girls deep blue eyes, but still managing to see her wrecked reflection within them. "I'm going with you, Onee-chan. I can do this, and I'm really, really sorry, but you can't stop me!" The apparently not-so docile bow-haired girl roared out, heaving a few steady breaths as she reveled in her inner power, it felt good, confidence was something she'd have to learn if she wanted to join her friends on this journey, it would need to not only be a concept she practiced, but a physical part of her as well.
With a more or less confident smirk, she brushed past her awed friends, dumbfounded that the usually quiet and reserved little girl could even work up the courage to explode with such emotion. Watching Tsukasa fearlessly march off in front of the group, Konata couldn't help but laugh at her dumbfounded tsundere, patting her on the back as she wiped away the laugh-induced wetness from her eyes, her friends surprised her every day, and they'd surely continue to.
Tearing herself from her memories, Tsukasa's tears stopped on queue along with them, slowly crusting onto her cheeks and enveloping them in a deep shade of crimson. Her crushed limb pained her immensely, but she'd have to shirk it off as best she could. With several mighty heaves, the broken and battered girl managed to pull herself upwards, grunting all the way over to the crumpled heap of the archer next to her, sprawled into a ball and crying like an infant.
"P-Patty-Chan…" Tsukasa grumbled out, dropping to her knees and shaking the abashed girl with her well arm, earning only whimpers and sniffles from the woman. "Patty-Chan, I don't know what you did but…it isn't your fault! You didn't know!" The bow-haired girl pleaded, earning nothing but more pitiful sobs from the broken girl, the woman who was supposed to be a great adventurer may have inadvertently doomed them in her triumph.
"No, no, no, I messed up again. I always mess up…" Patty chimed more to herself than anyone, covering her face in shame and heavily sighing into her palms. "There's a reason I keep to myself, you know…I'm a danger to everyone around me, I'm so stupid." The pitiful archer moaned, obviously trying as hard as she could to wrench away salty tears that threatened to escape her, she wasn't the type who'd look so vulnerable.
"Patty…" Tsukasa mumbled under her breath, she was at a loss for sure, she wasn't really the best at consoling people, more often than not she would be the one in need of soothing. Playing therapist wasn't really in the cards either, that spear-woman could only hold off that demon for so long, they couldn't just leave her to such a fate.
Tsukasa didn't have a way with words, she couldn't easily sway peoples opinions like Konata could, she didn't have courage and raw emotion, she couldn't force people do to anything like her sister could, she wasn't intelligent like Miyuki, she couldn't show them how irrational they were acting, and that greater things were at stake, what was she good at? Where did she fit in amongst her group of friends?
"Patty." The bow-haired girl peeped inaudibly, barely catching the attention of her addressee. "Please, just trust me, I don't know what happened to you in the past, but that girl needs our help now." Courage, in her own way. "Your past must wait, we can sort it out later together if you want, and I'll even help." Intelligence, in her own way. "Now, come on! Let's go!" Raw emotion, quite unlike her, but in her own way.
Ignoring the unsaid protests from the nubile archer, Tsukasa lifted the broken and battered girl from the ground with a mighty heave, dusting her off with her good hand and grinning courageously, she was kind of having fun playing the hero for once. She tore Patty's bow from the ground, slamming it into her still quaking hands, and turning her in the direction of the action, it seems the unnerved archer was without choice in the matter.
Patty's dampened vision beheld the tanned spear-woman fighting for her life, on her last leg of energy against the beast; intervention wasn't just a suggestion anymore. The archer had her inner struggles, her tender emotional scars, and they would go unhealed awhile longer, this stranger needed her help, Tsukasa needed her help, she needed to help herself.
No words needed to be spoken between them, the archer looked to her kind apprentice, and reaffirmed her with a gentle nod, it was time to quit sulking. Like a spider the mop-haired girl climbed onto a jagged stalagmite crunched into the dirt, steadying herself and getting a better vantage point with which to assist their new ally.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Patty barked ferociously, launching a well placed arrow which homed itself directly into the scaly stone hide of the bull-beast.
The beast bucked in pain, savagely hissing with steam as it turned towards its assailant, eyeing the arachnid archer as she leapt from one stone jut to another gracefully, she really was a wild little thing Tsukasa mused as she watched the huntress.
The tanned spear-wielder couldn't take it, she knew how to defend herself, but it wasn't as if she was an expert in demon slaying or anything, this was out of her league. She pitifully thanked the gods as the bull-beasts attention was drawn from her, the bucking monster instead racing its way over to the arrow-slinger. She wasn't without honor, but she also wasn't an idiot, she couldn't win and she knew it, and especially not in her current state of fatigue and injury, she'd let these dimwits handle things.
The bull savagely tore through the lined cave rocks like they were paper, crunching its rough hide against them and sending debris flying skyward in every direction. Patty's expertly nimble leaps from stone to stone were the only things keeping her alive, but this beast wasn't the type to play cat and mouse.
The bull stopped with a gruff bellow, dropping itself to the ground with a thump and sighing extensively, just what was it doing the archer wondered? Its black hide began to boil almost, fizzle into a crimson hot coloration until its entire form was engulfed in flame, this definitely did not bode well.
A loud snort from the beast, and then a rocky explosion of epic magnitude, erupting with intense and lashing flames in all directions, completely assimilating raw stone as if it were wood on a campfire.
Patty didn't have time to dodge; the hungry flames would surely consume her as they shone in her bright cyan eyes. Her stunted reactions spelled her doom, but unexpectedly, she felt not her fiery demise, but a soft hand tug her gently to the ground.
"Tsu?" She peeped out, her mock-apprentice spreading her arms wide, wrapping them around the archer as tightly as she could in a mighty bear-hug. Clad on Tsukasa's shoulders was a gruffly-sewn cloak, in fact the same one she had received from the disheveled man, who said it may be of some assistance to her in the mine. While she didn't understand what he meant at the time, she sure did now, it was flame-retardant, a flame sponging veil.
The man could be trusted it seemed, the harsh and deadly flames consumed the girls, but it did them no harm. The thin layer of cloth was all that separated them from the gale storm of blaze that whipped around them, but it would do its job. The tornado of fire dissipated, and the bow-haired girl tore the smoky cloak from her petite form, triumphantly staring at the savage demon she had more or less one-upped, a brief victory giggle was definitely allowed.
"Tsu, that was awesome!" Patty chirped, being helped to her feet once more by her apprentice, who only nodded towards the monster in response, praise would have to wait it seemed, a hardy battle was still upon them.
The flame-lurking beast was definitely slowing down; such an assault seemed to be quite the tax upon the demon, almost painful. The rock-hide from before was rippled and cracked upon its form, oozing with sizzling blood, it seems the beast was not past ending its own life to end the lives of its enemy, how like a demon.
"Hey, help the spear-girl, I'll handle the heifer." Patty courageously proclaimed, shooing the bow-haired girl off the perch and in the direction of their wounded ally. Turning her attention back to the beast, the archer nimbly ascended to the air, launching herself directly on the scaly spine of the monster.
The huntress wasted no time in firing a well-placed arrow in each of the beasts burly shoulders, she had hatched a rather wily plan, if this beast fancied itself a riding animal, she'd make good use of that trait. Plopping to a seating position, she firmly gripped each of the impaling arrows in a hand; ready for the berserk browbeat to make a move.
And make a move it did, the rowdy monster wasted no time in kicking its heavy form to and fro, attempting to shake off the uninvited guest that had made herself at home upon its hide.
"Whoa, boy! Let's try that again, eh? Calm...down!" The archer gritted, pressing and twisting the barbed arrows deep into the beast, ripping apart muscle and sinew alike savagely, shorting out nerves as the wailing monster bucked one final time in the air before beginning a steady and rampant gallop in the first aimless direction it saw.
Taming this riding bull seemed impossible, but she could use its reckless nature to her advantage, it seemed the heifer would smash through anything in its path without thought, how lucky. The demon slammed through stone after stone, bits of jagged rock and crystal fiercely clinging to its face, this was perfect.
Patty eyed her resting companions. She'd need their assistance one final time if her plan was to work out properly.
"Hey! Fang-girl!" Patty chimed, earning the attention of the spear-wielder, who perked up and stood to awe at the sight before her, that animalistic girl certainly had a way with beasts it seemed. "Quick! Point your spear outward, no questions, just trust me!" The archer shakily commanded out, trying her best to relay her vague plan to her comrades while attempting to stay clung to the savage beast. The tanned warrior hesitantly complied, pressing her spear downward and readying it for whatever the nubile archer had cooked up.
"Okay…right!" Patty commanded to her mount, tearing her arrow-reigns in her chosen direction and forcing the bucking demon to comply with her wishes, the alarming pain it felt was too much, it had to obey, if only to stop the pain.
She led the naïve beast right where she wanted it, and without a second thought it plowed headfirst onto the forked spear, the pole-blade gored the demon brutally, collapsing into one of its blood red eyes and blinding it completely. The slam caused the fanged-girl to violently whip backwards like a ragdoll and harshly slam into a stone pillar; it seemed this plan was not without its faults.
Patty could not be deterred; she could only pray the tanned-girl was uninjured, as unlikely as that was. One last powerful wretch of her makeshift reigns was all that was needed to put an end to this bull-riding game, she gazed in on her target, a daunting cliff-edge, likely without a solid bottom for quite some time, or hopefully not at all.
Pressing forward harshly on the arrows, the brazen bull charged without fear, blind as a mole and frothing at the mouth, it aimed to skewer the miniscule prey that made a fool out of it, but its chance would be sorely passed by.
Patty stood slowly, surfing on the galloping demon and preparing herself to jump, she eyed the swiftly passing ground on either side of the demon, this was definitely going to sting.
With an ape-like leap, the nubile archer tucked herself into a tight ball mid-air and was raggedly slammed onto the stone-built ground at alarming speeds, she could practically feel her skin peeling and burning and her limbs twisting as she rolled.
Coming to a painful stop, the wind-knocked archer creakily pushed herself upwards, grinning heartily when her oddly well-thought out plan came full circle, and the mighty demon dumbly tumbled off the edge of the crag, sending it back to whatever hell it spawned from.
"Patty-Chan!" A voice rang out dully in her thumping eardrums, and glancing in its direction, she eyed her bow-haired apprentice tripping over her own feet as she ran towards her, and the archer couldn't help but mumble out a cracked laugh in response. "Patty-Chan, are you okay? Oh god, your leg…" Tsukasa mumbled to herself, running a hand over the blood-coated and crumpled appendage, that was definitely wasn't good, she was no doctor, but even she could tell without proper treatment the archer would bleed out from such an injury.
"Hey." An accented voice called out behind the two, belonging obviously to the cocky little spear-wielder. The tanned girl approached the two, and amazingly they beheld that she was completely uninjured, not even a single scratch was noticeable, she was apparently made of some pretty tough stuff, an assault like that would have easily killed a normal person.
Suddenly the spear-wielder tossed something in her direction, Tsukasa caught whatever the item was with her good arm, surveying the odd object with a curled brow. It appeared to be an herb, somewhat resembling cut flax, deeply silver in hue.
"What is this?" The bow-haired girl asked, somewhat guessing what it might be, but she liked the specifics anyway.
"An herb, what do you think? You eat half, she eats half, it'll accelerate the healing process for those battered limbs ya got." The spear-girl explained, rummaging through her pockets and unleashing a tiny medallion, shaped somewhat like a hexagon, it was carved in stone and was covered in unique markings.
"And that?" Tsukasa asked once more, helping the broken down archer swallow her portion of the mysterious healing sedative.
"A catalyst, it'll force open a portal from our world to theirs. I am in a hurry, but in good conscience I can't just leave you two here to fair for yourselves in your current state, I'm not that heartless." The fang-girl huffed, holding out the medallion and glazing her eyes as it shown brightly with a series of alarming flashes, culminating in a brooding and misty looking orb of light, golden in hue.
"Their world…? What are you talking about? And more importantly, who are you?" The bow-haired girl squeaked in confusion, rubbing her head harshly over the puzzling events that played out before her.
Turning to her with a wink, the tanned woman crossed her arms brazenly, a jagged grin ripped across her face, accentuating her pointed fang perfectly.
"Hmm…I guess for now you can just call me Misao. And the other world? What, you thought ours was the only one? How anthropocentric, without them our world wouldn't even exist." The spear-wielder apparently named Misao explained, presenting the ghastly door before them with a grazing smile.
Carefully supporting Patty on her shoulder, Tsukasa eyed the ominous tuft of blinding light before her, it seemed she would have no choice but to trust the strange woman, the two injured girls were definitely at quite the impasse.
Gulping down a gritty lump of saliva, the bow-haired girl steadily took a step towards the portal which apparently led to a whole other world, the very idea seemed faux to her, what worlds could possibly exist beyond her own? Whatever she was getting herself into, it certainly seemed monumental.
Author's Note: Even if I felt stupid writing that pun at the end, but when it slithered into my mind I just couldn't help it, it was just too damn perfect. Also, god damn I was really hard on Tsukasa this chapter, she just can't catch a break, I spose. Anyway, the chapter took me a long time to write, I know, but college is just destroying my mind and body right now, and farting out the next chapter of my story was definitely the least of my worries. Now that I'm out of my slump and back on track though, I'm all raring to go to spew out a few more chapters in the very near future. Also, new longest chapter, again. I didn't think it could get any longer after last chapter, but I was mistaken. And before you even start, yeah, Tsukasa might have been a little OOC, but guess what? This story is "Out of Universe", it isn't as if I have any examples in the show or manga which depict Tsukasa fighting a god damn demon, so I illustrate it how I feel it would play out in such a scenario, I can't make her too helpless, can I? Also, Misao, awesome, besides Kuroi I was definitely anticipating her introduction the most. Also good news if you're getting a little weary of the pace the story is going, one more chapter and the girls are back together again, promise, but that definitely isn't even close to the end. Quite the contrary, that would likely be the end of "Act 1", amazing I know, but what can I say? Epic tales require epic length.