Disclaimer: I don't own Campione! or Mahou Sensei Negima. No offense is intended toward descendants of the Fujiwara or the Suwa-uji.
"Hey, wake up!"
A childish feminine voice woke the young mage. She blinked blearily and focused on the being in front of her. She sat up, and noticed that her clothes were totally trashed. There was a huge tear through her dress that went from her navel to her spine, starting small, but widening at her side to span from her hip to her shoulder. A girl in a white dress wearing her light hair in pigtails was looking at her disapprovingly.
"Pandora?"
Pouting, the goddess looked away, murmuring, "Even this one won't call me 'mama'…"
She didn't bother asking about that. "D-Did I die?"
"You got halfway there, but used your Authority and made it." She smiled.
"What?"
Pandora pursed her lips. "You didn't notice it. All of my children are at their best when they act on instinct."
"I used it on instinct?"
"Well, you didn't want to die, right?" The goddess smiled again.
"…Right." Dead. Like Negi. She felt tears come to her eyes. She shook, holding in a sob.
Suddenly, without even passing through the space between them, Pandora was leaning down to her, her hands brushing the tears away. "There's no need to cry, Anya." She smiled gently. "You will definitely see him again."
"R-Really?"
"Of course! I am She Who Knows All Things, after all! I promise you." She smiled brightly before gasping in surprise as Anya hugged her. "Anya?"
"Thank you, I- I can't even say how-" Now she was actually crying, pressing her face into Pandora's neck.
The all-knowing mother of god-slayers stroked her daughter's hair and embraced her.
After the girl had finally calmed, Pandora cleared her throat. "Anyway, I called you here to talk to you about that fight."
"Huh?"
"You have to have fun when you do stuff like that. You just got all stressed out and lost the first round. Relax and do what comes naturally." The goddess began lecturing. "On the other hand, that wild guy is probably your natural enemy, so be a little sly."
"Sly? How does that even make sense against a god?" Anya canted her head.
"Think about your Authority. When does it work? When doesn't it? What can it do? What can you make it do? If you can answer these questions and make them work in combat, you'll be able to cut a path to victory even through mountains of obstacles." With a wisdom that belied her form, the goddess gave honest advice.
Anya thought about what Salvatore could do with his sword, about her first Authority that she could only use before enemies. What else could she do with her magic to better use her Authorities?
Actually, since she was before the goddess who knew everything, she should make sure to ask as many questions as she had time for. "Actually, Pandora, do you know who that god is?"
"Absolutely. You want me to tell you, yes?" She smiled brightly.
"Um, yes, please."
"Unfortunately, you wouldn't remember if I told you. You need a certain level of enlightenment to remember something that detailed. Well, that, and that there are other gods listening in. On the other hand, you already got a big clue about exactly who that ancient steel is." This time, the goddess's expression was sly. "Anyway, don't lose the next round."
"…It's easier to say that than to do it." Anya's shoulders slumped. "Anyway, you said he was my natural enemy?"
"Yes." Pandora nodded. "Your first Authority gives you weapons for fighting gods, but you still need to use them with your own skills. If your opponent's abilities are too great, then you'll naturally have issues. Of course, that's not all, but I can't tell you the other reason."
Something in the goddess's speech echoed in her skull and she tasted metal for an instant. "…The regalia of Bellona the war goddess. A godslaying sword. A spear to destroy the territory of foreign gods. Armor to deflect their malice. A torch to light the way to victory…" She felt a sharp headache and something immaterial tore painfully. She'd been approaching everything incorrectly. …What the heck had just happened to her?
Pandora made a slightly surprised expression before forming a knowing smile. As quickly as Anya had seen it, it faded and was replaced with the goddess's usual exuberant expression. "In summation, do your best!" With a thumbs-up, the goddess vanished, leaving her in darkness.
Nodoka was surprised to find herself in a crypt. Just moments ago, she'd been surrounded by her classmates, who were fighting against those people who had attacked them upon arrival. She knew that the boy was named Fate and the girl, Tsukuyomi, but she didn't expect for them to appear.
There was a sudden growl, and she stiffened.
A blond man rushed toward her, a frantic look on his face. "Get down!"
Nodoka dropped to the floor and a broadsword tore through the air behind her.
There was a yelp followed by a squeal and something heavy landed behind her. The librarian turned and saw a large wolf, which was torn in half, making her want to vomit.
The man pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay, ojou-chan?"
"Um, y-yes, thank you."
"Craig! There's a whole pack of them coming! Let's get out of here already!" A smaller man ran up to them and grabbed Craig's shoulder.
The man who'd rescued her grasped her hand and tugged her along as the pair ran.
They met up with two women on their way out and finally arrived at the staircase that led to the outside world. It was so bright that she couldn't look directly at the doorway, instead looking at the illuminated walls. Wolves chased them and snapped at their heels.
Nodoka could already feel her lungs start to strain as she ran.
After clearing the stairs, one of the women cast a spell at the door and collapsed it.
Everyone collapsed into the sand, panting.
"So, what were you doing down there, Ojou-chan?" Craig spoke over his panting.
Nodoka told him the truth, that she'd come to the magic world with her class and they'd been suddenly separated after being attacked.
"Let's hope that none of them are in this area. Those wolves that attacked us have been reported all over the region."
Nodoka shivered in worry, remembering the fierce fangs and desperate hungry panting of those monstrous wolves.
Wako woke to a rushing noise and felt her head pound.
She shook herself, feeling her entire body ache. She'd used too much power borrowed from her ancestor, so she was paying for it. She rolled onto her back and took in her surroundings. She was on a rock in the middle of an ocean. She couldn't see anything but water in every direction. The waves washing the side of the rock were calming.
It would take a lot of energy to traverse the ocean, but even then she didn't know where she'd end up.
Resigning herself to waiting, she settled into seiza, relaxed her body, and began to clear her thoughts. All she had to do was recover her strength and she'd probably be able to smell that loathsome Fujiwara girl. It was unfair that another heir to divine blood got to live so freely and then casually step into the world of magic.
Personal animosity aside, she hoped that her ancestor would quickly slay that inhuman monster masquerading as a girl her age. The sooner he was free, the sooner she would be.
After insisting on accompanying the people who had rescued her, Nodoka was finally introduced to everyone. Aisha focused on magic, Lyn on hand to hand combat, and Craig and his friend Christian focused on weapons. On the other hand, the group's main focus was evading traps and finding treasure, so fighting wasn't a main priority anyway.
Their first adventure together revealed that her time in the Library Exploration club was actually very helpful, since she was just as apt at detecting traps in ruins as she was in the library.
Their next one was near the ruin that they'd sealed when they first met, but there had been no signs of the wild packs of wolves. It had been said that a comet had crashed into it recently, so it was a bit more dangerous, since floors may have collapsed. On the other hand, a lot of magic was detected by everyone nearby when it hit, meaning that rare materials may have been present.
After entering, a large shadow passed over the doorway before vanishing as quickly as it had come. They turned to the entrance only for the stone sides to slam shut, sealing them in. A large magic circle appeared over the door. Her training during the summer break enabled Nodoka to read that it was a seal, but not anything else about it. Aisha was perfectly willing to give them all a complete analysis. Nodoka didn't understand all of the arcane jargon, but the main idea was that there was a specific condition through which the door would open: the presentation of a certain object resting in the ruins. There was a loud echoing howl from outside. Unsettled, the treasure hunters continued inside. Oddly, there weren't any traps. It was most likely because of the moderately sized hole that went through the roof and floor. Through the bottom hole, Nodoka could see more holes further down. The edges were incredibly ragged, as if the holes had been punched in, but they were large enough that their being due to a comet or meteor, like the rumor had said, was unlikely.
There were bits of materials that had value, but there was no exit on that floor. They decided to descend to the next floor to look for a device to unseal the door.
The main thing that she noticed about the ruin was that it seemed to be nearly empty despite its size. It was as if it was a prison, with nothing but stone walls and doors. It was incredibly cold as well, something that she didn't expect in a desert.
At length, they arrived at a floor and saw no further holes. It was incredibly humid, as if it had rained inside that floor and only that floor. As they advanced, Nodoka heard something slip against the cool stone of the ruin.
"Ssss…"
She couldn't help but freeze at the sight of a pile of snakes. Her heart pounded at the shock.
As the animals slithered quietly, a red stain was revealed on the stone floor. Christian took a cautious step forward, disturbing the snakes, which quickly rushed away in a cacophony of surprised hisses, revealing a small, pale girl in a ruined robe and dress, the cloth barely covering her body. Her hair was in total disarray, even wrapping about her arms and neck. Nodoka thought that the girl looked incredibly familiar, but couldn't quite place it.
With a slow, deep, raspy inhalation, the girl began to move.
A sudden noise caught Anya's attention. She felt something sliding around her rapidly, feeling a bit like sand running off of her body with the tide. She could almost smell the sand and taste the sunlight on the beach. When did she fall asleep? She felt bits of rain floating in the air, mingling with fragments of heaven.
…
…
… None of what she'd just thought made any sense. She must have gotten a concussion. She moved in response to the sound, her body stiff from being still for so long. She turned toward it and saw a few blurry figures. She tucked her legs under her body and tried to stand. Her legs wobbled and her stomach growled. "…Ah…" Her voice was raspy. She flopped down to the ground, her eyes still clearing. She felt something soft and cool slide over her wrist, and she picked it up.
It wrapped itself about her wrist gently, something small and wet flickering against her skin.
She heard a noise and canted her head in confusion.
She heard more of it, and after a moment heard it properly as language. "Hey, kid, are you okay?" The revelation of language made her mind pick up its pace and her eyes finally cleared. She was surrounded by four adults that she didn't recognize, and…
"Nodoka!" Anya couldn't help but rush to her and embrace her. Nodoka was okay! But if Nodoka had found her, where was everyone else?
"Jou-chan, you know her?" The tall man spoke.
Nodoka, who'd stiffened in surprise, looked at her closely for a second before her eyes lit up in realization. Did she suddenly look different or something? "Anya!"
The Campione smiled and asked. "What happened after-" her face fell slightly. "Well, after- you know."
"Oh, the transportation magic went wild and everyone was scattered."
"And what happened to Negi?"
"What?"
Anya was surprised that she wasn't more worried about her friend, but it helped her to ask calmly. "Is he alright? I didn't get to see if he got any medical attention."
Nodoka smiled. "Yes. Konoka-san was able to use her artifact to heal him."
"Thank goodness." Anya let out a relieved sigh, but didn't know why she didn't feel more surprised or emotional. She was bothered that it didn't bother her.
There was a growl and everyone went on edge.
Anya's eyes and ears focused and she heard claws scrabble across stone and the panting of an animal. Wind rushed through rough fur. A large wolf leapt at her from behind and she whirled around and leapt forward, driving a kick into its neck and loosing flame. She felt something crack in its spine.
With a squeal the white animal collapsed before falling apart into a single long hair that looked more like a man's spine. Of course, Anya had no way of being so sure that it was a hair, but she made the judgment on instinct.
Anya turned to the people around her, feeling the rushing of her blood revitalize her. "What was that?"
"Uh, a wolf?" The shorter man gave her an odd look.
Anya frowned. That didn't feel right. The wolf felt like the edge of something more.
"By the way," The same man spoke up, "Do you need some clothes?"
"Huh? What are… you…?" Anya trailed off as she stared at her torn clothing. Both her robe and dress had large tears in the side, showing most of her torso, hip, and part of her pelvis. "Aaah!" She clutched the fabric over the exposed parts of her body, her face flushing.
She glanced at the party around her. Nodoka looked embarrassed for her, the dark haired woman looked placid and the blonde also seemed to share in her embarrassment. The two guys were carefully avoiding her gaze. "Um, let's just get out of here. It's kind of stuffy in here."
The dark haired woman handed the girl a cloak for her to cover herself with.
"Well," the blonde spoke. "The door is sealed with really complex magic, so you'll have to help us find a mechanism to unlock it."
Well, if it was only magic, then she should be able to just smash it open with her own magic, right? She did have a massive amount of magic to draw from. "Actually, I should be able to break it open."
"Really?" She looked doubtful.
Anya smiled confidently. "It's just magic, right? Then it's no problem."
There was an echoing growl. Anya could feel the off-putting wolves approaching.
The tall blond man called out to the rest of them. "It sounds like they're on the floor above us!"
A wolf leapt down through the hole in the ceiling.
The dark-haired woman snapped a leg out in a hook kick, sending the creature flying into a wall. "We shouldn't waste any more time!"
Following her lead, they made haste.
Finally arriving on the ground floor of the ruins, the group arrived at the sealed door.
Anya pressed her hand against it and felt the magic in the seal try to shove her away. Her resistance prevented anything from happening.
The growling white wolves rushed to their floor and surrounded them.
Wanting to get out and avoid fighting more wolves, Anya pulled back a fist. She gathered enough magic to shatter stone.
She launched a punch right into the center of the seal and felt the air ignite and detonate.
To her surprise, the seal rejected her spell and the force made her stumble back. The wolves sensed the use of magic and treated it as a hostile act, making it impetus for attack.
Finally killing all of the wolves, the group took a chance to rest, using this period for introductions.
Committing their names to memory, Anya knew that the shorter man was Chris and the taller one Craig. The dark haired woman was Lyn and the blonde was Aisha. More than that, it seemed that the wolves suddenly began to appear a few days ago. Anya wondered if they had anything to do with her fight with that tall god. According to rumor, all sorts of monsters would wake in response to the battles between gods and god-slayers.
Aisha looked at her and asked. "You said that you could open the door, so what do you think of the seal?"
Anya thought about it. Just throwing magic at it bluntly wouldn't shatter the seal, so it would be better to cleave the door open. That being the case, since she couldn't use her authority without an enemy, she would have to use the forbidden spell that she'd learned. "If you give me some distance, I should be able to tear it open, actually."
"Tear…?" Aisha looked both confused and horrified. "It's much too dangerous to try to force a complex seal like that one to open. It'd be better to decode it slowly and carefully."
Anya smiled. "That won't be a problem. It'll be torn apart easily." She felt her magic power rise slightly with her determination. It would be her first time using the spell against something that was powerful, but less than a god. How well could she cast it?
Following her instructions and heading to the far edges of the room, Nodoka and company watched as Anya centered herself.
She wasn't sure when she'd gained the ability to cast spells without a focus, but she remembered doing it before when fighting the Naga, so she should have been able to do it again. Thinking this, she focused and cast the magic that had slain Bellona. "Fortis la tius Lilith lilioth…Stoke the flames and raise the furnace's output. Flames of Vulcanus, burn brightly and become my sword. Forging God's Sword." The burning forbidden spell-blade burst into existence. "I am the horror of war and conflict. I conquer all, wreathed in victory!" She chanted the spell words that were her proof of god-slaying, the spell words reserved for the beings that had slain war goddess Bellona and no others. The blade lengthened and widened, becoming a massive longsword.
Anya charged at the door, stabbing the forbidden weapon into the seal. She growled as she shoved against the door. The ancient magic resisted the attack and the Rakshasa Rani's movement came to a halt as she pushed against it. The entire building seemed to tremble. Magic flew from the seal like electricity from a short circuiting wire as it tried to hold itself together. Lowering her center of gravity and gritting her teeth, Anya drove her weapon into the door, the seal finally giving way. She turned the stab into a vicious slash, tearing the door apart.
The scent of burning rock and smoke whipped around at the sudden increase in atmosphere.
Anya released the spell and stood. "There!" She shook out her hands with a sigh.
All of her new acquaintances were staring at her in shock and different amounts of distress.
Aisha spoke first. "Just- Just what was all of that?"
"I broke the seal. Didn't I say I would?" Anya smiled brightly.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?! Not just for you, but for everyone here?! You could have collapsed the building if the seal shattered more violently! Moreover, throwing around forbidden magic in an enclosed space is-!"
"Wha?" Anya stared at the furious mage. She'd only been thinking about breaking the seal and testing her power. How could she have been so reckless? She could have gotten everyone killed, even after she'd promised Nekane that she'd keep everyone safe. "I… Sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly…" She felt tears come to her eyes. This on top of the chaos at the airport and the fight with that god after arriving in Mundus Magicus showed how much she'd failed in keeping her word over this trip. Why was she so incompetent?
"Ah, um…" The woman was blurry through the tears in Anya's eyes. "W-well, it's good that we can get out now, right?"
"N-no, you can't just brush it aside. I really should have thought more about others. Just because magic won't harm me doesn't mean that it won't hurt others, and I should have thought about all of you as well. I'm so sorry." Anya lowered her head in apology. She'd have to work much harder at protecting the people around her. She could still remember how she'd lost control and drowned in instinct when she'd fought gods or fought Salvatore seriously. It was helpful when making up for her lack of experience, but it wasn't safe for bystanders. If she wasn't more careful, she could end up causing a tragedy like the one that she'd returned to that winter day long ago…
"Anyway," Craig interrupted, "The door is open, so let's get out of here."
Nodoka grabbed her shoulders. "Well, everyone makes mistakes, so I think that, if you've learned from it…"
Anya nodded shakily.
All of them left the door and went outside into the desert.
There was yet another growl. This one shook the very air visibly.
Anya felt her bones shudder in unison, making her muscles ache.
A shadow was cast over the group and the entrance of the ruin. Looking up, Anya saw a massive white wolf, about the size of a building. Fire was flickering out of its growling muzzle and its eyes were leaking light like massive lanterns. Its huge limbs were tensed and firm as boulders. The wolf's tail was bristled and all of its fur was shaped like an array of human spines.
Anya's body reacted to the creature instantly. It was a divine beast. It was now almost a given that it had appeared due to her fight. The wolves had been attacking people, and it was her responsibility for waking it. More than that, she was the only one that had the power needed to slay a divine beast without more casualties.
She spoke to her acquaintances and friend without looking at them. "I'm sorry, but this wolf is something that I have to take care of."
"What do you mean?" Craig was honestly confused, it seemed.
"It's my fault that it's here, so it'd be best to leave this to me."
Nodoka visibly had an epiphany. "Is this related to the 'power of the gods' that your friend in London was talking about?"
"Yeah." Anya smiled, but felt apprehension. "My power should let me kill it and prevent any more wolves from attacking people."
"Why would we leave you to fight a giant beast alone?" Lyn asked. "No matter what magic or ability you have, it wouldn't make sense to let you get hurt against such a thing."
Chris nodded, as did Aisha.
Anya racked her brains to try to find a reason for them to retreat. She could tell that they were good people, even after only knowing them for such a short time, so she couldn't think of anything that would make them leave without her, especially Nodoka. But she couldn't let people get hurt when she could easily prevent it with her Authorities.
The wolf's tail trembled and twelve large wolves leapt down, surrounding them. They were bigger than the ones that she'd seen in the ruins and had burning eyes. Despite the difference, they had the same feeling to them.
She frowned at that last thought, but steeled herself. As long as she took responsibility and kept everyone safe, it was fine even if they all rejected her. Despite that argument, she still couldn't help the anxious, shuddering breath that she took before she spoke. "Have you heard of the Rakshasa Raja?"
Aisha blinked. "The demons that cause calamities by killing gods? Don't they only appear on Mundus Vetus?"
Well, it wasn't the full story, but it would have to do. "I'm one of them. This wolf is awake because I fought a god when I got here. I'm one of those monsters, so stay away and I won't have the chance to accidentally kill you all." She tried to make herself look as threatening as possible as she activated [Regalia of the War Goddess] and felt the usual wave of raging power rush into her. She heard a hiss that seemed to warn the people around her away. She couldn't risk letting the power run wild, so she held it in, clenching all of her muscles in an effort to hold back the instinctual desire to tear the divine beast apart carelessly. She drew in a breath that felt like it was already on fire. The instinct was fine and letting it overpower her was a misuse of the [Regalia]. The instinct was best used combined with her will, not to cover up her fear or inexperience.
When had she ever heard such advice? She'd never had anyone tell her about her Authority in the first place. Who could possibly have known?
The smaller wolves ran toward her, apparently feeling the sudden change. They didn't even give the others any attention. Anya bent her knees and responded to their charge, her instincts letting her avoid different lunges, only getting her new cloak torn. She ran to the side, feeling the smaller beasts give chase and the large wolf moved after them, easily cutting off any retreat.
The Rakshasa Rani chanted. "I follow the divine law of just war and revel in it! In this sign I fight!" The bronze sword of war appeared.
Twelve wolves attacked rapidly, the combined ferocity and strength enough to tear a ten-year-old girl apart in a bloody mess of muscle and bone, leaving a crimson stain on the ground. They possessed a bestial speed that was entirely beyond the realm of humanity.
However, against a god killing monster, they were at a disadvantage. Twelve arcs of bronze were drawn through the air and Anya's body advanced through the mass of beasts. Slit the throat. Sever the spine. Slash the abdomen. Split the chest. Slice the ribs. Sunder the entire body. Blood splashed. Moving that gracefully felt so good. She felt her lips part in a smile.
A cacophony of anguished howls rang out and lumps of inert flesh dropped to the ground, leaking blood and entrails onto the sand. Anya faced the remaining giant wolf. "Fortis a tius Lilith lilioth. Cantus Bellax." Her magic enhanced her ability easily. She ran at it and saw it release a stream of wolves into the sky even as it snapped its jaws at her, fire lashing out.
Anya leapt onto the wolf's muzzle and swung her blade downward, severing the front of it before diving to the side to dodge a wolf and twisting, bringing her weapon through the front of the smaller wolf's body. Normally this wouldn't necessary kill the beast, but Anya followed up with an explosive kick, sending the creature flying. The number of attacking wolves was uncountable, so it would be best to kill the actual divine beast.
Anya let herself be absorbed in a flow of movement, slaying wolves and advancing. She wasn't able to flawlessly avoid the beasts' fangs and claws. She felt one sink its teeth into her calf before she cut it down, and kicked another just as its claws dug into her shoulder.
By the time that she reached the actual divine beast, she was covered in wounds. A cut on her scalp leaked blood into her right eye, dying half of her vision red. One of her ribs was broken. All in all, the damage was negligible. It wasn't nearly enough to stop her.
The massive white wolf continued to produce lesser beasts as it launched a paw at her.
Anya whipped her blade right across the paw but was blown away by the force. "Ng!" Catching herself, she felt her muscles tremble with strain. She already knew that the sword was enough to kill the beast, so what was she doing wrong? She needed the weapon to pass right through the whole limb, not just the range of the weapon. She could remember Bellona using the weapon to cut things much beyond the sword's reach and she'd conquered her and stolen her power, so there was no reason for which she shouldn't be able to use it in the same way.
She advanced once more into the wolf's range. The divine beast lunged, baring its teeth despite its damaged snout. Its roar shook the air and ground.
For the second time that day, Anya spoke her proof of god-slaying. "I am the horror of war and conflict. I conquer all, wreathed in victory." She moved a mass of magic energy into her god-slaying sword.
She was so focused that everything but the wolf faded into the background. She could hear her own breath and felt her heart pounding in excitement. The advancing mega fauna was straight, its spine lined up, for just a moment. It was perfect.
The Rakshasa Rani slashed the attacking beast with a scream of exertion, her body twisting to give the movement the maximum amount of force. Her throat ached and she felt as if she'd vomit. Her inexperienced body's reaction didn't matter, because she'd succeeded in using the sword. The weapon recreated the feat that she'd seen at the hands of Rome's war goddess.
The wolf's roar was silenced.
Anya stood still and the surrounding wolves were also immobile.
With a sick squelch, the wolf fell in two pieces. The creature was split in two at the jaw, the fissure extending from head to tail. Blood spurted and gushed in a red shower, darkening the sand with crimson rain. Anya could smell the thick stench of iron and bile as the blood made her eyelashes sticky and weighed her hair down so that it fell into her eyes.
The lesser wolves collapsed into the spine shaped hairs before crumbling into dust.
The [Regalia] closed and the divine gladius vanished. Anya smiled. It was the first time that she'd been able to fight and protect the people around her. On top of that, she'd gotten more skilled with her first Authority. She felt the cuts in her calves, scalp, and torso itch and knew that they were healing. Even the broken rib began to pull itself back together through the surrounding flesh. It hurt, but at the same time felt natural.
She stared at the blood drenching her body and noticed that her clothes had been torn to shreds in the combat. What would she do? The snake slithered up her arm and wrapped about her neck. For a second she panicked before relaxing, as the snake merely rested. Where did it come from anyway?
"Anya!" Nodoka was running toward her over the bloody sand.
Anya's mouth opened in surprise. "Nodoka! Why are you still here?" She was sure that her threat followed by the carnage would have scared everyone else away.
"Because you could have gotten killed!" It was the first time that Anya had seen Nodoka truly upset.
"Eh? Even after what I said earlier?"
"Why would it matter that you aren't human? Didn't we become friends? You wouldn't have let yourself hurt any of us." Her face made a frown that the younger girl couldn't ever remember seeing. It really didn't suit her demeanor at all. "In fact, I'm only upset that you kept it from me. Can't we trust each other over something like this?"
"Ah, sorry." Anya avoided her gaze. Making friends had been fairly difficult when everyone at school knew about the tragedy that had taken her mother and, after she'd slain a god, it only got harder. "I was just afraid that, since I'm not normal, and we just became friends…"
Nodoka's face lost the frown, looking honestly confused. "You already know that a lot of Ala Alba isn't normal either. We wouldn't treat you any differently."
The young mage nodded.
After Anya received an extra cloak from Chris to cover her nudity (It was, unfortunately, the last extra one.), the group of treasure hunters and mage queen arrived in a town. It was unfortunate, but Anya didn't get the chance to clean all of the blood off, making for a suspicious image.
As soon as they entered, Lyn turned to the young girl. "Pull your hood up."
"Eh?" Anya obeyed, but asked, "Why? What's going on?"
Nodoka directed her attention to a poster on the side of a building.
It was a wanted poster. It had a long list of bounties for people who'd damaged the magic gate-ports that were the path between the magic world and Earth. It had become an international incident.
Anya saw her picture and beside it was… "One milli-!"
Lyn covered her mouth. "Shh. Don't draw attention to yourself."
1,000,000 drachma and a warning for extreme caution… For what? What did she do?
They went to some public baths, giving Anya the chance to wash off all of the blood, and after that, went to a clothing store.
Wearing a new, simple dress with sneakers, and finally getting ties for her hair, she was able to go with her new acquaintances to a restaurant, where the food was good, but there were no sweets. The restaurant had screens showing the news. The Devil Queen was, of course, disappointed about this, but there wasn't anything that she could do about it. They at least had tea. She ended up eating two whole shepherd's pies before she was finally full. Her mouth had had more room for food than she remembered, her jaw opening wider. She sighed with satisfaction.
She noticed that that everyone with her was giving her odd looks. "Um, what is it?"
"Just how hungry were you, Anya?" Chris asked.
"I haven't eaten in-" She realized that she had no idea how long she'd been unconscious. "Actually, Nodoka, how long has it been?"
"Um, about five days."
"Then I haven't eaten in five days." She nodded in comprehension. Wait, how was she not dead from that? She was pretty sure that even she would die if she didn't eat for almost a week. It must have been… she didn't have a word for the cause, but she had the image of a massive serpent in her head when she thought of it.
"Five days?!"
Anya couldn't do much more than shrug. It wasn't something that she could explain, really. By all accounts, she should have died. It was odd that she was so unconcerned about it, but the preservation of her life was somehow something that she could trust implicitly.
Suddenly, she caught a story on the news.
{And, the investigators have just released an image of the person behind the collapse of the Megalomesembria Gate-port.}
The screen switched from the anchor to an image of Anya. It was from her fight with that steel-crafting god. The god wasn't displayed at all, but it showed her drawing the torch of her Authority. The image pulled the flame down and made it crash into the walls of the gate-port, making its walls shatter from the force and the roof collapse. Several magic arrays were shown shattering with the use of the divine tool, their destruction causing several wild bursts of magic and violent explosions.
Anya tensed, her eyes wide. She felt the snake around her neck squirm restlessly. "Did," she whispered faintly. "Did anyone get hurt when that happened?"
"No, we all were fine. It seemed like the fire didn't actually touch anyone."
Anya let out a sigh of relief, the snake relaxing and seeming to go back to sleep.
She'd finally caught up. Wako was sitting in a forest, and had a view of that girl, who had another, taller girl with her. Thankfully, she'd already struck down, cooked, and eaten a wild animal in the forest, so she wasn't hungry or thirsty. She couldn't even remember what it had tasted like, but it didn't matter. Her blood was buzzing in her veins, as if they were filled with hornets. This was what her teachers had meant when they'd told her that her clan inherited the karma of the god of hunting and forging. Her body wasn't reacting like a normal, human body would. Nothing mattered as long as she obeyed the wishes of the Great Ancestor. She moved silently toward the pair.
She remembered the amount of time that she'd spent training to mind the shrine. She'd spent all of her life that she could remember, training. She'd been forced to memorize applications of combat and sealing magic and train in martial arts. She'd even been pushed into the wilderness to train, both in survival skills and defense against wild animals. Even when she'd accidentally broken an arm fighting wild bears, she'd been pushed right back into training. Every time she'd complained or asked for a break, her instructors and family had told her that it was necessary, that the blood that she'd inherited required that all of the Suwa clan be in the vicinity of the shrine. It was their duty to the nation to defend it and keep their ancestor within the shrine.
It needn't be said how difficult it was to fit in at school. Normal elementary school students didn't have experience with killing bears and wild boars. It didn't help that everyone viewed her as a person that deserved respect, even when they didn't know anything about who she was. They only reacted to her surname. What then, could she do but continue her training? What then, could she do but obey her ancestor? What then, could she do but let her blood drive her to any path that would let her escape that prison of a shrine?
She kept a distance of about a meter. Drawing her tessen, she broke into a sprint. As expected, the taller girl turned first. She deflected Wako's strikes at the wrists and the smaller girl was pushed back.
Baring her teeth, Wako retreated before advancing again, her start-stop time for changing direction was nearly nothing and she felt her ankles break. It was fine. They'd heal in a few moments anyway. Her blood would guarantee that.
The tall girl drew knives and the two of them exchanged strikes, steel ringing against steel. Fourteen thrusts and swipes were deflected by the tall ninja before she counterattacked. Wako was forced to circle while defending to avoid the attacks. She could already tell that she'd lose to her if she continued to fight the knife-wielding girl, so she drew on the irritation in her blood, feeling the Hunting God's power fill her body. A strong wind blew through her insides, wiping away any fatigue. Her sight became more acute and she felt the veins in her limbs press against the skin.
Instead of deflecting the next strike that came at her and retreating, Wako took the opportunity to sidestep, suppressing the movements of the kunoichi's arm with her own. She made to pass by the older girl completely.
A hook kick came at her chest, pushing her backward into a hold. The older girl was keeping her still.
Wako's veins itched. "Ohkuni-nusi-no-kami, I beseech you grant a sliver of your augustness onto your descendants." She made a proper invocation with archaic language. It was forbidden magic from the Suwa Clan that called upon the God of the Unseen's power over the land. Because the people were bound to their land of origin, any human of Japan would be bound in her presence so long as she maintained the spell.
The kunoichi stiffened as expected. Her body stilled.
Wako took this chance to attack the girl she so disliked. The problem with her spell was that it wouldn't affect others that had divine blood or power. It would have been possible that her target would resist her attack, if she wasn't so inexperienced.
"Konoka-dono!" The now-ineffectual girl shouted.
The older girl who also bore divine blood stood, shocked. Her hand shot out and caught Wako's attacking limb, surprising both girls.
""Huh?"" They both stared at the hand in awe.
Wako was sure that she'd moved quickly enough via the wind spell to overwhelm any normal person, especially an untrained girl, no matter how much older or larger she was.
The older girl was panting and she looked pained. Her other arm came down on her shoulder and the Fujiwara girl shoved her awkwardly. It had none of the practiced grace that a martial artist would have had. Wako was nonetheless sent flying, her body slamming into a tree.
Wako pulled herself off of the tree and took a set of small steps, moving in a semi-circle, dance generating the needed magic energy and shaping it into a summoning spell. She snapped both tessen open and launched a kamaitachi wind that could sever steel.
The older girl flinched and sparks danced around her body, destroying the wind.
The Fujiwara girl exhaled harshly, and Wako could see sparks on her breath.
Snapping the tessen shut, Wako attacked again. She felt the other girl's attention on her. She clenched her teeth and felt all of the hairs on her body rise. Ice raced down her spine and she trembled. The emptiness in the older girl's eyes was worse than the pressure of her gaze was.
With a swift motion, the older girl swatted her hand away. She stepped forward and Wako dropped her left tessen.
The descendant of the tall god drove a punch into Fujiwara's solar plexus.
It sounded like steel striking steel.
"Ah-!" With a gasp, the older girl stumbled backwards. As she did so, her hand shot out impossibly fast, as if only by reflex, and she struck Wako in the chest. It was actually a perfect reverse punch.
The small girl felt her upper ribs break. Her body went limp. Why was the pampered daughter of the Fujiwara clan that strong? She'd already known that the girl hadn't been taught how to fight. She'd been training for years in magic and martial arts, and yet, her body was failing her here? Would all of that painful emptiness be worth nothing? Wako forced herself to move. The bones of her empty hand twisted and extended, becoming sharp steel. She felt the joints break with loud snapping sounds. They ached horribly. She thrust her hand at the older girl's chest. She wouldn't let this chance pass her by. She would live freely.
She felt her hand pierce through the fabric of the brown haired girl's dress and then her flesh.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed.
Author's Note: Please review and let me know how I'm doing.