So…before we move on to the next Chapter of 'Daylight's End', there's been some…events up here.
Marko: "We're the better bros! Don't you say anything otherwise!"
Ulm: "Yeah! We're friends since we started training together!"
Dre: "That's total bull! I and Marsh started our jobs at the same time for 'G' knows how long!"
Marsh: "Giving that fact, you're not better than us."
Yeah…while we celebrated yesterday, the two ex-cooks somehow arrived up here. It actually went pretty well for a while…until Dre and Marsh heard them using the term 'Bro'. Then they went onto a discussion on how each side views the other one-
Marko: "Liar! There can't be better bros around than the two of us! That's the rule!"
Dre: "You're right. Bros are always here, but only two can be best bros. So go home already!"
Ulm: "No chance! We're settling this, right here! Right now!"
Marsh: "Sure, you won't win anyways! How do you want to settle this?"
And it only went downhill from there…
'?': "Jeez, these guys surely are hot-headed. Kind of reminds me about a certain pair of mages…"
Hana: "No matter, I know how to split them apart." *Walks up to the two* "Well, since you 4 are in a pickle there has to be a solution. And I know just the right thing!"
*SLAM*
Hana: *Looks at 'Hearts' who stands behind a wooden barrel and two seats* "Thanks for the prep, 'Hearts'! I'll take another beer for that!"
'Hearts': *Nods and walks back behind the bar*
Ulm: "Not to interrupt you or anything, Miss-" *Shudders (due to past experiences)* "But what's the idea behind this?"
Dre: *Deadpans* "You're not serious, are you?"
Hana: "Nope! Ladies and Gentleman! You will participate in an old-fashioned arm wrestling contest!"
…It…works? So, I'm up for it!
'?': "Huh. Pretty weird when I see people like them not brawling their brains out." *Lights glow around him* "Hey, what's up with the light!?"
'G': "Seems like you're going back to your own consciousness. Remember, this place isn't your actual reality so any memory that happens in here, remains here…you'll be able to use the memories made here only if you would reappear in this place again."
'?': "Eh, fair enough. Well, thanks for the drink and goodbye!" *Disappears in a short flash*
He's a pretty laid-back guy. A shame that he had to leave that early. Well, everything has its time. Speaking of time, 'G'? *Grins* Care to do the honors for the 'Review's corner'?
'G': "Sure, might as well." *Spawns in a yellow-colored envelope with green stripes as well as 'LucilliaNovaDreyar' written on the front* *Cough* "THIS IS SO AWESOMMEEEEE I CANT EVEN EXPRESS IN WORDS HOW FREAKING COOL THIS STORY IS! I cant wait for more! New favourite story" "This review defiantly wasn't expected, but all of us are surely grateful for it." *Raises glass* "A gratitude zip to you."
He's right! After so much silence in the reviews, one surely doesn't expect such an awesome, energetic response! And then to even be your new favorite story, that's an honor. *Raises can of cola* A nice change of pace, feel free to read as long as you enjoy it. Same goes for everyone else.
Hana: "Alright then! Who of you four will go at it?"
Ulm: "Marko, you want to do it? I'm only good at shooting my crossbow, so you're the stronger one out of us two."
Marko: *Grins* "No problem man. I'll show those two what real best bros can do!" *Walks towards the barrel*
Marsh: "Dre, you're fine with competing?"
Dre: "Of course! These guys don't even know what'll hit them!" *Walks to the other side of the barrel*
Before these two start shouting insults at each other…'Hearts'? Would you be willing to do our disclaimer?
'Hearts': *Nods and walks towards the audience*
'G': "Hmmm…how is he going to sound?"
No idea, but I'm curious myself.
'Hearts': *Waits for a second before raising a signboard, where 'This story and its OC's are reserved by MrFiretank, while any OST's and soundtrack's rights go to their respectful owners.' is written on*
Everyone: "HE'S NOT EVEN GOING TO TALK FOR THAT!?"
W-…When did he prepare…that signboard..?
'G': *Deadpans* "No idea, but we should have expected that. Until they finished their competition, let's get on with the story…"
…Yeah, for now-
Hana: "The competition starts in 3!"
Marko: "You're going down!" *Prepares hand*
Hana: "2!"
Dre: "In your dreams!" *Grips Marko's hand*
Hana: "1!"
Roll the next Chapter!
Hana: "LET'S GO!"
...
CHAPTER 19 – UNTIL THEY FALL
"Gehaha…GEHAHAHA…GEHAHAHAHA! I FINALLY KILLED RED! YES!" 'This…can't be happening…' Sietta…threw herself in the way of his attack…just to save me. My eyes started to water at that sight, the same sounds could be heard in the back from the soldiers and Matsuri…
"H-Hey…*Cough*…*Cough*" 'She's not dead yet!' The wet coughing of the red-head herself snapped our attention back ahead. Even Dao (who was sure that he got a kill) snapped his eyes down to see the unbelievable sight only he'd be able to witness…
There was the heavily injured chief, claw stuck inside of her abdomen and blood going down her face…a hand of hers was weekly gripping his own.
"D-Don't…think…*Cough*…you could…c-cry…" Her halberd's grip was getting so weak that it started to slip out of her other hand.
*CLANG*
"…O-Over…a little…scratch…" 'S-Sietta…' Her other hand became limp whilst her eyes stared directly into Dao's bloodshot-like red ones. My eyes (meanwhile) still stared at where her only weapon laid…
…as I saw 3 fingers raised from the same limp hand…
"…A-And you…Dao…" I couldn't exactly see what her expression was right there, but it must have been painful regardless…the master's claw-like hand moved a bit…only for the man himself to freeze and stare madly at the red-head.
"…What are you doing Red…YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!" '…!? She's gripping his hand, keeping it in place!?' I couldn't believe it. Even in this broken state, Sietta had enough strength left to trap him on the spot. The white-haired man was now trying to actively get his left hand out of her injury. But even with his full body pulling on it…the shock from our chief's action left him mostly froze.
"…D-Do you…know…the difference…between us…?" Her head moved slightly to the left, letting her twin ponytails swing to the sides as there was another grin on her features. But unlike the one from before, it was a calmer, smaller variation. Her eyes got shadowed over by the sun…giving her a menacing presence as she spoke:
"…Y-You…fight behind…*Cough*…all of…your little…goons…and your…mages…" Her expression stayed the same whilst moving closer to his.
"…You…hide yourself…b-behind your Dark Guild's name…" All of us just watched as Sietta became more and more confident in her words, getting louder with every second passing.
"You…can't even risk yourself or…you own body getting hurt."
"Grrrr….JUST GET TO THE POINT!"
"You aren't all high and mighty like…everyone said." The muscles on Dao's arms tenses, like he wanted to recoil at her words.
"You...*Pant*…You let the other members do the dirty work…while you just watch everything happening!" There were veins forming on the guy's forehead. His own eyes became shadowed over as Sietta raised her own head again, shouting on the end of her speech:
"THE TRUTH IS YOU AREN'T STRONG! YOU'RE THE WEAKEST PERSON OUT OF EVERYONE HERE!"
"GRRAHHH! WHY AM I LISTENING TO YOUR BULLSHIT!? I'LL JUST END YOU RIGHT HERE! 'TAKE OVER: LUPUS SOUL'!"His right hand was engulfed in the same grey-white magic circle from before. As before, fur started to cover his arm, nails reformed into claws and his muscles gained on mass…
"TIME TO DIE-!?" Yet, mid-swing he stopped whilst his claw was stuck in the air. The reason for that…was Sietta's grin getting bigger from his response.
"It's my time to die? …That's a bunch of crap…" All of us weren't sure is she had just lost her nerves or her sanity…but she actually chuckled when Dao was about to kill her.
Though…there was one more thing that confused me. The 3 fingers on her limping arm…
...There were only 2 now… '...!? JESSICA! I'll finish the incarnation for our spell, you just stay in this stance and attack when I say you to!' 'Wait, do you mean that-!?'
"I haven't trained…for over two years…just to be beaten by a weird douche like you!" The second finger on her hand disappeared, signalizing me that something was soon happening, so Luna didn't waste any time and finished the spell's charge for me.
'…And reveal the truth to its bearer!' Sietta's feet angled slightly to the right as did her upper body. The hand that was gripping Dao's one got tighter when she shifted ever so slowly.
"And if you think that you're killing me today-" …Then it happened all at once.
Sietta turned her entire body whilst dragging Dao with her under ridiculous pain.
Dao (still under shock) was moved so far to the right, that he was clearly visible to me.
And he couldn't move away since Sietta kept him in place…
"…Alright…I won't be too much of a help in this state, but I could give you an opening. Just…charge it up until I give you the signal. Got that?"
…giving me the chance to finish him. 'NOW CHILD! END THIS BATTLE!'
"THEN REMEMBER THIS: I'M WILLING TO GET HURT FOR MY FRIENDS!" / "'ABYSSAL COSMOS MAGIC: AURORA ARCADE SWING'!"
The surge of aurora-green energy started to travel towards the pair of fighters at great speeds. Dao (from my vision) became slightly nervous, but moreover he felt anger rising in him when the shockwave was closing it.
Sietta thought just grinned all the way, holding his hand in place until the very last second before she pulled it out of her abdomen. She even used the pull's force to push herself away from Dao who tripped a step backwards…right into my attack's line of fire.
"…This one's for our home." / "DAMN YOU, REEEDDDD!"
*BANG*
When the attack connected, I only saw how Dao got hit in the chest, before a blast of dirt and my attack's resulting shockwave blew me away as Luna fell out of my weakening grasp…
"…What the!?" / "Whoa!"
The giant cloud of dust started to cover the entire battlefield, making everyone cover their eyes. Yorc and Trecht were able to only see the attack from Jessica connect. Now they tried to stand upright due to the massive shockwave that flew around the area.
'Full Blood's' men also got blinded from the debris, yet some of the remaining ones got thrown on their backs. Loeyur's forces were better prepared for this scenario (since they experienced it once) and held their ground.
"…Wait, IS THAT-!?" Trecht adjusted slightly faster…only to see their hot-headed superior fly through the sky…
"Yorc, catch the damn girl before she becomes flatter as she is!" His only battle partner ran ahead to Sietta's impact zone as fast as he could (ignoring the ambivalent comment) to safe her. The speed of her flight was nothing astronomical, yet there was a huge danger for the already heavily injured red-head. Deciding to center his entire attention on his close friend, Yorc threw both of his swords to the ground, allowing him to stop her fall in the first place.
Fast reactions and good timing on his part ended with Sietta safely landing in his arms. Unconscious, but safe…as good as her injured state could have counted safe.
To say that the partner of said red-head was worried was a definite understatement. Just seeing this giant gash in her stomach up close made his nerves boil in worry for his comrade and anger at 'Full Blood's' master…so much that he didn't spot the small shadow rising behind him.
*SHING*
"Y-You stay still, o-or else I'll slit your t-throat!"
He didn't turn around or tried to move much more as the weapon was a few inches away from his neck. Not because he was stuck, defiantly not. Yorc could easily ram his elbow into his enemy's chest and call it a day. Though, he didn't…mostly to not worsen Sietta's injuries through any sudden movements. Still…
"…And what if you have to?"
"H-Huh!?"
The ex-mercenary fought a lot of battles in his life, not many of them being one-sided. He knew when someone was afraid. And all together, the young voice behind him was probably sweating bullets. Being confident in his instincts, Yorc turned his head to the side, turning the voice even tenser.
"W-WHAT ARE DOING!? S-S-STOP MOVING! I-I'M S-SERIOUS!"
"…I don't think you're ready for that."
The counter was lightning fast, giving the boy behind him no chance. He was down on the ground after 2 seconds, short dagger clanking beside him. When everything registered, he just froze and stared at his opponent in fear. The tension was getting worse for both of them every second.
As Yorc moved one step towards the male, sweat and fear surfaced clearly on his enemy. His features had finally become visible: brown, short hair and young, dark-blue eyes. His clothes had only consisted of a huge piece of cloth…if it could have been even called clothing. He probably only reached to 2/3 of Yorc's height, having to perhaps stand on his toes to even reach his neck.
"W-WAIT! P-PLEASE!"
His hands were shaking, eyes became teary and fear filled his veins…he was cornered, and Yorc knew that. With that, he started walking towards him ever so slowly…
The boy had tears running down his cheeks as his eyes closed from the fear. 'He accepted his end…' The last step was intentionally louder than the other ones. Yorc had to adjust his grip on the injured chief as he freed one of his own hands. He then angled his upper body a bit forward, tightly holding the boy's shoulder…
"W-What are you doing!?"
…and heaves him up so he was standing again.
...
"...Why did do that?"
"W-What do you m-mean?"
"…He- *Cough* …means why you…hesitated…"
Both parties slightly jumped from the chief's voice. But here she was, barely awake and heavily breathing…but still alive.
Yorc wasted no time and set her down on the ground to let her body relax outside of his grip. Firstly, he needed to cover the giant wound on his chest. '…But with what?' As if his request was answered, his vision was slightly covered by an old speck of brown.
"..."
"…H-Here."
A small piece of the boy's torn-off clothing was presented before his eyes, functioning as a make-shift bandage as of now. Yorc's vision slightly shifted to see the boy's expression still filled with fear…but there was concern in his eyes.
"..."
"T-Take it…"
Sietta eyed their 'opponent' for a moment before suddenly giving a lop-sided grin. "Well…I think- *Cough* …I understand it…now." As her partner took the cloth and started to stop the bleeding, the boy just timidly stared at her. Loeyur's red-head (on the ground) complied by looking to the side, seeing the twins in the distance with the injured tactician held upright on their shoulders.
"…You're not…the only one…kid…" / "…Matsuri!? Fujimaru!? Duvac!?"
A small chuckle could be heard when the boy stared wide-eyed into the distance. "Are you now dragging children into the village-watchers' ranks, ma'am?" None other than Trecht had finally caught up with them after dealing with the remaining small fry. Another chuckle could be heard from the injured red-head…although there was a small undertone in her voice. '…Even I can't tell the difference in there.'
"…If I…wasn't lying right here…I'd rip your straw-hat apart…for that."
'…Scratch that thought.'
"Well…either he got blown apart…or straight up knocked out."
"Either way, Jess defiantly socked him with that~!"
"Yeah. We're lucky to have someone like Jessica as our friend."
Ex-'Full Blood's' trio of friends was currently standing beside their own allies, the twins holding their heavily injured friend over their both unprotected shoulders.
"…Are you sure you can hold me up like that? You're not in perfect health condition, Matsuri."
"No worries~! Anything for my friends!" A smile was crossing the bubbly mage's face. However, both males close to her knew that it was probably forced and that the pain from her left leg. Duvac could only mentally admire how his only female friend was able to smile at others even when being in so much agony. 'As the saying goes: "The most broken people smile the brightest."'
"Hey! I'm glad you three made it through!" The twins and the advisor turned their heads to see the ex-cooks Ulm and Marko dash towards them. They weren't very visible due to the gigantic dust cloud that still didn't dissipate around the air, making breathing quite difficult.
"It's you again…and I see that your friend is accompanying you. How…are the others holding up?" Truth being told, Duvac was surprisingly unconcerned for the other fighters. Yet they assisted him and his friends at freeing their shackles, thus making him give a bit of acknowledgement for that. 'Mostly to girl that also befriended them…it's due to her that today's events even occurred.' Ulm was fast to reply with his question and smiled brightly as he answered:
"We didn't spot many of our own guys in this dust, but all of ones we spotted were mostly fine. I don't know about Jessica and Sietta though."
Duvac considered such a response quite rare. Usually (after a huge attack from 'Full Blood') he'd have to deal with dozens of injuries and crippled members. Although…there was a difference when dealing with them. Those who didn't serve any purpose either got…rid of or simply left behind. 'There weren't many people in Loeyur's ranks in the first place…quite a miracle that the few spotted ones could be in such a good state.'
"Wait, Jessica's still out there!?" And of course Matsuri started to panic the second her friends' fates are unknown. Her face turned with worry even between the sudden bursts of stinging pain.
"Uhm…I think that I saw how our chief got blown away from the blast."
"WHAT!?" / "Really!?"
That got a reaction out of everyone else.
"Are you sure, bro?"
"Yeah, Marko. I was scoping through the iron sights of my crossbow when her blast connected. Surely flew quite a bit of distance away…"
"Damn…hopefully someone stopped her-"
"GGGRRRRAAAAAHHHHHHH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, GIRLIEEEE!"
'Jessica!' 'Why now out of all times…Luna, I can't move!'
Dammit, why does my body stop suddenly like this? I was so goddamn sure that Dao was done for after our strongest spell directly connected with his chest. But no…of course he had to stand up again, even madder than before and probably on his way to tear me into shreds. And now I was almost completely drained of magical energy… 'There was probably like 0.1% left…just enough to keep me alive. Crap.'
Speaking of Luna (by the way), her unreleased form wasn't in my hands anymore. And no, my body wasn't numb in the sense of: "Help me, I feel nothing anymore!" Nope, just couldn't move any limbs, only that.
'I'm not that far away from your- …YOU!'
"Gehahahaha…I FOUND YOUR LITTLE TOY, GIRLIE!" Suddenly there was a claw gripping my hair, forcing me to look upwards and…see probably the worst nightmare possible.
Dao was standing there, heavily breathing and visibly injured…whilst also completely covered in fur. The coat of his was still there, whilst his actual hair became ridiculously long. 'Super-Saiyan much?' The brown-colored irises of his eyes turned in full, feral red ones. Additionally, he now sported a snout with the complete row of sharp teeth and a fluffy tail. Did I forget to mention that Sietta's dried up blood was still on his arm's fur?
'UNHAND ME, YOU VILLAIN!' 'LUNA!?' No...No No NO! Seems like Dao meant Luna's released sword-form that was now lying in his other blood-stained claw, which was now dangerously close touching my throat, drawing blood. My guiding spirit's expression inside of my mind was turning into one of shock and more visibly…fear.
"AH! Seems like there's actually someone inside of you fancy sword…HOW CONVENIANT FOR ME!" The other claw that was holding on my hair suddenly let go, making my head fall due to gravity taking place once more. Sharp screeching could be heard outside of my limited vision as well as Luna's painful screams in my head.
'GGGAAAHH! STOP THIS!'
"Aww, but why? IT'S BECOMING SO MUCH FUN RIGHT NOW FOR ME!"
*SCREEECH*
'AAAHHHHH! THIS…THIS PAIN!'
'LUNA!'
Luckily, the feeling inside of my arms returned (if ever so slightly). First I could feel my nerves returning to life…
'OWWW!' Then there was stinging pain following up that sensation. 'At least they're usable again...' Given that I pushed my entire willpower into the moving of my upper limbs, they finally complied and moved over my head.
As they entered my own vision, there were small trails of blood on both my fingers and my hands. And I'm sure that my pinky isn't supposed to twist that way…
'Come on…just a bit more! …There!'
Seriously…only my arms were barely moving, I was probably injured (and I don't even know to what degree) and fighting was surely out of the question without any magical energy…so yeah, I did the only thing that was left in my possibilities.
Even if Luna was technically only a spirit…she was still a close friend of mine…and hearing her painful screams was something I couldn't bear.
Thus…
"Grrrr….now what!?" / 'JESSICA, NO!'
A small piece of white fur was sticking out of my fist, which was lying next to my still body. The action caused Dao to stop his torturing intentions and look with…those menacingly red eyes straight into my fluttering, ocean-blue one. The other eye was still covered by black bangs…yet it was secretly closed in fear.
"YOU! I completely forgot about you to be honest…but THANKS FOR THE REMINDER!" There wasn't a single moment afterwards as he raised my own weapon over his head, letting the oversized blade gleam from the few rays of sunlight shining downwards.
'YOU HAVE TO MOVE AWAY! I CAN'T STOP HIM IN TIME!' 'I'M TRYING!'
Outbursts of shock and rage came from my far left…probably from either the tired twins or our immobile troops…still, it wasn't distracting Dao in the slightest. The contrary is the case. His insane cackling (or whatever could have been considered as cackling within his werewolf-like form) sounded even more gleeful whilst Luna shouted mentally at me.
"GEHAHAHA! DON'T THINK THAT I'LL DO THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN!" Mad laughter was the only thing I was actually registering…I couldn't even look my independent doom in the eye without being scared…what a 'fighter' I was…
"Well, as a little parting gift, I'LL MAKE YOUR DEATH QUICK!" The shuffling of feet was audible. 'HE'S GOING TO KILL ME! LUNA, DO SOMETHING!'
Unlike the other times where I was stuck in such a predicament, panic had already taken over me. When I fought against Yorc or 'Kirin', the determination to save all those people was stronger than the beginning's anxiety of this adventure. But Dao…
How do I say this the best…its pure fear. Everything inside of my body was screaming at me to run away from his killing intent and sheer level of magical energy flowing around him! His body, his expression, his, HIS LAUGHTER, EVERYTHING WAS SCREAMING DEATH FROM HIM! Thus, even my thoughts were filled with fright…
'Now I get why he's 'Full Blood's' master…only a maniac this intimidating would be fitting for such a position.'
"NOW THEN! SEE YOU NEVER AGAIN!" *SHING* / 'NOOOOOO!'
*CLANG*
...
"What…WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" / "...I'm sorry…boss, but…she was right…"
'…!? *Gasp* You're…'
"GET YOUR STUPID HANDS AWAY FROM ME, IDIOT!" / "I may…be slow….but I'm not stupid…"
That…was…
"DAMMIT JAEHN! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ATTACK THEM, NOT HELP THEM!"
The friend of both twins…the only other mage who didn't even had a chance to battle beforehand…
"…And while I…was lying there…some stuff started to…uh…"
'Make sense?'
"…Yes! Uhm…yeah, they…made sense…to me. So…"
As my fear was slowly flooded away, some nerves and muscles close to my neck finally responded again. It took me a whole lot of energy until I was looking upwards, but I wasn't going to miss this moment of last second-plot armor helping me.
Lo and behold, there he was…Jaehn (heavily injured) was standing there, the 'Holy Moonlight Sword's' blade gripped so tightly between his hands that blood started to stream down Luna's unreleased form. There were cracks and ripples all over his hands… 'Right…I drained a huge part of his magic energy before dealing with Dao.' Speaking of mentioned psycho, Dao was desperately trying to get Luna out of his grip…failing as much as I was beforehand?
Wait, not quite. The sword did move every time he started shaking it. But it was only less than a centimeter with every pull. Unfortunately, Jaehn's grimace during all of this and the increased flow of crimson over time must have meant that Luna's edge was painfully cutting into his own fingers…
"…I decided something…I'll help them…since they treated my friends nicely." / "WHAT!? JUST BECAUSE OF THAT!?"
'Not good, he is becoming even madder now! There's not much time-'
"There is also one symbol carved into the side of your sword, but it's concealed by the cloth that's strapped around it. So don't worry too much about it. You might get to see it soon enough."
If anyone holds onto the 'Holy Moonlight Sword' without my consent and attempts to use it, then Luna will use her own powers to overload the mentioned circuit, creating a magical explosion after a couple of seconds.
'Wait…LUNA! PLEASE TELL ME THAT THE CURCUIT IS ALREADY OVERLOADED!' This was the solution! Right now Dao was distracted completely! If he failed to feel the tingling sensation right now, then she could literally blast the magical energy out of his body!
'Almost! It takes me longer since his 'Take Over: Lupus Soul' has created a magical surge around his body that counteracts my own magic. Just a bit more!'
"I SWEAR THAT I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU STUPID MORONS FOR THAT!" His muscles were now pulling on Luna's handle with full force, increasing the strain on Jaehn's grip and the flow of blood trailing down…
'I have to buy them time, somehow! But…what do I say...'
...
Well, they say that pressure can either block or spark one's creativity…and in that case, I only remembered the rage-inducing lines of Sietta…giving me possibly the best of worst ideas for my safely so far.
'Dad, you never told me to insult someone…but please forgive me for what I'm about to do!'
"Hana, let go of the beer bottle! It already cracked and you're only injuring yourself!" / "Dre's right! The worst part's already over! Stop!" The working partners were currently trying to release the blood-coated grip on their usually happy strawberry-blond. Shadowed eyes and a thin line had switched that expression.
'If she's keeping this up, I'll need to replace her with another worker that has two functioning hands. Besides…no, I can't let her keep this up.' 'G' was staring nervously (yet with a calm façade) at the commotion in 'Heaven bar's' front. After witnessing the giant explosion that took place, all workers (Hana included) had started to run wild and cheer with huge grins…
…Only to have these disappear at the sight of their favorite lying on the ground and that sick lunatic standing next to her…with the weapon in hand that was given by the guardian angel personally.
To say that she had mentally snapped could have been a metaphor like a volcano erupting and nobody realizing it. What actually caught everyone's attention was during the moment when Dao was about to kill the reincarnated girl as a few glass shards sprang from Hana's position.
Sitting unmoving, eyes fixated up to the screen and hands shaking from frustration…that she couldn't help her close friend and was about to technically fail her job again sufficed to throw her into a mental breakdown. Everyone had just watched her for a few seconds, feeling disturbed at the creepy sight only for the two worker partners Dre and Marsh to rush forward and try everything at removing the cracking husk that once contained alcohol.
'This is getting ridiculous.' Heaven's boss had enough, so he stood up from his back seat and started to walk towards his…friend, authority and decades of experience radiating around his presence-
"…Hey, you over-sized fur carpet!"
'…What?' The entre situation and everyone (even 'Hearts') froze when the…cocky and upbeat voice of their favorite mage rang through the television's loudspeakers. Even the shaking hands of Hana seized every movements when the line registered in their minds…
"Yeah, you stupid, drooling snow-snout! I'm talking to you!"
That got a few chuckles out of the crowd. Mostly from the backlines ('G' excluded), but the humor was there. Some could have even sworn that they heard Hana chuckle slightly at that.
Currently in the fight, Dao had stopped his struggle at getting the young mage's sword out of that giant's grip and snapped directly towards the girl as she still laid on the ground. Loud growling was speaking volumes on his mood…which could be considered as only one thing: royally pissed off.
"I have smelled the week old excrements of my cat and let me tell you: Your own body and brain is even worse than that!"
"Damn!" / "Hehehe! The kid got some guts!" / "That one must have been a burn for him!"
The crowd was 'howling' louder than the first time whilst Hana's shoulders were shaking heavily. 'I know where this is going.' A lot of habits were known around heaven about Hana…but only 'G' knew a few certain ones that any person would probably miss 90% of the time.
Actually, this behavior was only similar to those that had a certain self-control…not of the improved kind.
Whilst Dao was fuming, Jessica's voice became progressively louder, gaining on confidence over each syllable just like the hot-headed chief who used a similar tactic before.
'Seems like he isn't one of those…' To his sight on-screen, Dao was shaking with his entire body out of sheer rage…surprisingly he managed to clamp his snout shut even with all these pending emotions building up.
"Hey, Dao! The poachers were calling! They want their rotten rat coat back! You even call that decent clothing? I WONDER HOW MANY DOGS HAVE RELIEVED THEMSELVES ON THAT THING TO GAIN THIS ODOR!"
Now there was full blown laughter ringing around every open stop in 'Heaven bar'. People threw themselves on the floor, held their stomach's sides or held themselves somewhere upright. Though, all people drowned themselves in the young girl's humor. Even 'G' was barely audibly laughing behind a hand covering his mouth.
However…one entity trumped them all as her internal struggle finally ended with shards of glass clacking down on the counter-
*SMASH* *SMASH* *SMASH* "AHAHAHAHAHA! I-I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! BWAHAHAHAHAAH! THAT ONE WAS PURE GOLD, JESSIE! AHAHA…AHAHAHA!" …only to smash her injured hand into the counter's wood, splintering it slightly.
'G' gave a concerned look towards the bartender…who simply stared back behind his heart-shaped, red-colored glasses and held up a bill between two fingers.
The only response that 'Hearts' got back for that was a deadpan stare. 'Why was I even worried…?'
"SHUT UP YOU DAMN NUISCANCE!" 'LUNA! I have nothing left! GET DONE ALREADY!' My mother would probably award me for getting so creative with insults- I'M GETTING DISTRACTED AGAIN! 'Save own life first, praises later!'
Surely, Dao hasn't taken kindly to my opinion, as he (instead of pushing more at Luna's handle) aggressively slammed his whole weight with claws and everything at Jaehn's torso, catching…him…off-guard, freeing the…oh no.
"I'LL MAKE SURE YOU CAN NEVER JOKE AROUND AGAIN!" '…You know what, forget what I said before. I DON'T WANT TO SEE MY OWN DEATH OCCURING! LUNA!'
'I GOT IT! IT'S CHARGED!'
Small sparks on Luna's handle flew into the air, distracting the werewolf-like psycho from getting his kill on me. That spark then created a small light around Dao's claw when there was the similar sound of an overloading reactor in the air. There was shock written all over 'Full Blood's' master, signalizing that he knew there was something about to happen.
…And seriously, blame me all you want…but I couldn't resist to let my inner movie-badass out…disregarding the disgraceful quote that escaped my mouth:
"Your times up, Dao."
*BANG*
...
...
*Thud*
...
…He…finally collapsed.
...
...His body…was reverting back to normal…
...
...Dao was seriously lying there…unconscious…without any magical resources left…
A full-grown smile crossed my tired expression as I just laid there, staring ahead with wide eyes and still frozen body. The feeling of my arms had left me during my jokes, leaving me at the grace of my own exhaustion.
'But I have to admit…your jokes surely were creative. I'd be sure someone out there would give you praise for that…'
'Later, Luna…for now, I just want to lay down and get some shut-in…'
My eyes closed with every second…darkness slowly claiming me once again…
"Je…ca! S…aw…! Get…med…now!"
There were the faint words of my friends and footsteps rushing towards me. Their voices could barely be heard from my own mind, but then I felt someone picking me up with their…huge arms…
"…I got…you safe…"
'Jaehn…?' There wasn't much energy left in my body, so I closed finally let the strain of my body claim my consciousness whilst a last thought was ringing in my head…
'Let me at least wake up in another bed…'
...
(To be continued…)
(Fire Me): After I was done with writing this, I just looked down on the word count in 'Word' and saw over 5.5k down there…the highest I have written for over a few months (considering I take ages for 1 update).
'G': "Well, maybe a sign for your writer's block drifting off."
Perhaps. Well, I'm tired and just want to go to sleep right now. Also, should you read this: I'm still about to add the OST's for this Chapter tomorrow. This only applies should you see the Chapter before the 10th of November, 2017. After that, see this message as unimportant.
Oh, and another thing I wanted to add: NEVER try to edit mistakes in spelling via. phone! I did this 1 hour after writing this and instantly regretted it, because it not only deleted all of my linebreaks, but it also deleted a few symbols on the story's first part...yeah, sorry if you had to read this with such a sloppy quality.
As such, I'll hit the hay now. Thank you for reading, stay awesome and as always…
The Sir's out!